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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


PhotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 
WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 
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if. 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microficlies. 


I 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


■n 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibiiographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


D 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pellicui6e 


i^S 


Cover  title  missing/ 

titre  de  couverture  manque 


rrX  Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


PwK  Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
[2^4    Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
11  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissant  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 
D 
D 
D 
D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  pellicuides 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  d^coiordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 


r — I  Pages  damaged/ 

I — I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I — I  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  in6gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mer.iaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  dt6  filmtes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  mellleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  da  reduction  indiqu^  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


30X 


y 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


iWt«" 


lits 

Ju 

difier 

me 

age 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photodupllcatlon  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iteeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  fiimi  fut  reproduit  grAce  d  la 
giln4roslt6  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Les  Images  suivantes  ont  dt6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exempialre  filmi,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

iV/laps,  pletes,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  loft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  film6s  en  commenqant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  fllmfo  en  commenqant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selcn  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cllch6, 11  est  fllm6  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


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1  2  3 


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2 

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A<iwilti. 


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THE 


EARTH    AND    ITS    INHABITANTS. 


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SOUTH  AMERIC7\. 


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fiLISfiE  RECLUS. 


'/ 


I  EDITED   BY 

A.  H.  KEANE,  B.  A.,  *' 

HEMBER  OF  COnNOIl,   ANTHBOP.   INSTITDTE ;    COB.    MEMD.    ITALIAN   AND  WASHINGTON   ANTHROP.    80C.  J 

AUTHOR   OF   "ASIA,"    KTC. 


VOL.   I. 


THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS  AND  MAPS. 


NEW    YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

1,   8,   AND    6    BOND    STREET. 
1894. 


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1 

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CONTENTS. 


CHAP. 


I.  General  Subtey  op  the  Continbxt 


Conflgumtion  of  the  Contiaent,  p.  1.  'Vhe  Seaboard,  p.  2.  Kiver  Systems,  p.  3. 
Forests  and  Habitable  Lands,  p.  0.  Gkupwnnications,  p.  7.  Exploration  of  the  Sea- 
board,,  p.  9.  Exploration  of  the  Interior,  p.  11 .  The  Andes  Orographic  System,  p.  19. 
Snows  and  Glaciers,  p.  21.  Volcano*,  p.  22.  The  Eastern  Orographic  System, 
p.  22.  Upheaval  and  Subsidence,  p.  24.  Climate,  p.  27.  Flora,  p.  31.  Fauna 
p.  3,5.  Inhabitants,  p.  36.  Chief  Diviwons  of  the  South  American  Aborigines,  p.  39 
Miscegenation,  p.  4 1 .  Hittorio  Retrospect,  p.  43.  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Domains, 
p.  47.  Foreign  Relations -Railway  rrojects,  p.  50.  Social  Condition— Material 
Progress— Prospeote,  p.  52. 

II.  Antilles  OP  THE  Venezuelan  Seaboard     .        ,        .      -, 

Tobago,  p.  56.  Trinidad,  p.  68.  Physical  Features,  p.  68.  The  Asphalt  Lake, 
p.  60.  Eiver8-Climate-Fl..ra-Fauna,  p.  62.  Inhabitants,  p.  64.  TojSography, 
p.  67.    Admii.^tration,  p.  70.     Margarita,  p.  71.     Curasao,  p.  73.     Aruha,  p.  76. 

III.  Venezuela   .        . 

•  •  •  •  •  •  •    ..  •  4  •  ,  . 

'^'"r**'!^'"^?*'^"''  P-  "■     Extent-Popnlaiion,  p.  79,     The  War  of  Independence, 
p.  80.     The  Venezuelan  Uplands,  p.  81 .     The  Vetiezuelan  Andes,  p.  83.    The  Sieri  a 
de  Merida,   p.   85.     The    Llano,,   p.   87.     Rivors-The  Orinoco  System,   p.   90 
Orinoco  Delta,  p.  90.     -Jhe  Maraoaibo  Inlet^Lake  Valencia, p.  98.     Climate,  p  100 
Flora  p.  101.     Fauna,  p.  102.     Inhabitants,  p.  105.     Topography,  p.  108.   Material 
Condition  of  Venezuela,  p.   125.     Agriculture,  p.   126.     Mineral  Wealth,  p.   127 
Communications,  p.  129.     Administration,  p.  131. 

IV.  Colombia - 

Progress  of  Discovery  and  Conquent,  p.  134.  Relief  of  the  Land,  p.  140.  The 
Sant^  f  *^* '""^  ^^"''j*'"*  Uplands,  p.  140.  The  Eastern  CordUlera,  p.  142.  The 
Central  CordiUera,  p.  144.  The  Western  Cordillera,  p.  148.  Oscillations  of  the 
^eaboard-Llands,  p.  149.  Rivers-The  Magdalena,  p.  150.  The  Cauoa  and 
M.gdalena  Delta,  p.  164.  The  Atrato,  p.  167.  The  San  Jnan  and  Patia  basins, 
p.  159.  aimate,  p  162.  Flora,  p.  164.  Fauna,  p.  m.  Inhabitants-The 
Muysoas,  p.  169.  The  Coconucos  and  other  Aborigines,  p.  174.  The  Hispano- 
Amencans,  p.  179.  Topography,  p.  180.  Material  Condition  of  Colombia,  p  210 
Admimstration,  p.  216. 

V.  ECDADOB 


PAQX 

1-54 


56-76 


77—132 


133—219 


Extent-Disputed  Frontiers,  p.  220.     History-Geographical  Exploration,  p.   221. 
Physical  Features-The  Ecuadorean  Andes,  p.  223.    Volcanoes,  p.  224.    Table  of 


220—264 


avsss 


IV 


eiiAK 


vr. 


CONTENTS. 

PAOM 

Altitudes,  p.  SUft.  Hydrography,  p.  23r..  Climate,  p  238.  Flora,  p.  210.  Fauna, 
p.  ■/{>.  InhiibiUinti',  p.  214.  Topoj^raphy,  p.  248.  Material  Condition  of  Ecuador, 
p.  -i.-jS.  Agriculture-Iimnigration,  p.  259.  Communiijations,  p.  201.  Govern- 
meut,  p.  201. 

The  GALArAoos  Aboiiipelaoo 266—273 

Voliianio  Formation,  p.  i07.     Climnte,  p.  209.     F.ora  and  Fauna,  p.  270. 


VII.  Pebu 

Disputed  Frontiefs— E.\t(>nt.  p.  274.  Geographical  Eosearch,  p.  270.  Physical 
Features,  p.  278.  The  Northern  Cordilleras,  p.  279.  llie  Central  CordiUeras,  p. 
281.  The  Southern  Cordilleras,  p.  282.  The  Pacific  Coastiands,  p.  284.  Rivert— 
The  Pacific  Coast  Streams,  p.  289.  The  Amazonian  Aftluents,  p.  290.  Climate,  p. 
290.  Flora,  p  2i)8.  Fauna,  p.  299.  Inhabitants,  p.  301.  The  Quiohuas— Empire 
of  the  Incas,  p.  303.  The  Yuncas,  Antis  and  other  Aborigines,  p, 
Spaniards— Negroes  and  Coolies,  p.  314.  Topography,  p.  310. 
of  Peru,  p.  343.  Agriculture,  p.  344.  Mineral  Wealth,  p.  345 
cations,  p.  347.     Administration,  p.  3oO. 


274-363 


309.     The 
Material  Condition 
Trade — Coromuni- 


VIII.  Bolivia 

Boundaries- Extent,  p.  334.  Oe<igTaphical  Reseai-ch— Population,  p.  3,'>3.  Physical 
Features— The  Bolivian  Andes,  p.  337.  Main  Physical  Divisions,  p.  339.  Lakes 
and  Rivers— Lakes  Titicaca  and  Pampa-AuUagas,  p.  300.  The  Rios  Boni  andMadre 
de  Dios,  p.  303.  The  Piloomayo,  p.  305.  ainiat«,  p.  305.  Flora,  p.  300.  Fauna, 
p.  307.  Inhabitants— The  Aymaras,  p.  307.  The  Chiquitos,  p.  370.  The  Mojos, 
p.  372.  The  Canichanas  and  Guarayos,  p.  374.  The  Chiriguanos,  Tobas  and  Sirionos, 
p.  375.  The  Antisians,  p.  370.  The  Apolistas,  p.  379.  Topography,  p.  379. 
MaU'rial  and  Social  Condition  of  Bolivia,  p.  383.     Administration,  p.  393. 

IX.  Chili 

Recent  Conquests,  p.  397-  Islands— Boundaries— Extent— Population,  p  398. 
Geographical  Discovery,  p.  400.  First  Exploration  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  p.  402. 
Later  Explorations  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  p.  400.  Topographic  and  Coast  Surveys, 
p.  406.  Physical  Features— The  Northern  Highlands,  p.  407.  The  Mejillones  Range, 
p.  4C9.  The  Chilian  Andes  Proper,  p.  410.  The  Southern  Chilian  Andes,  p.  418. 
The  Chilian  Coast  Range,  p.  419.  Chiloe  and  Neighbouring  Archipelagoes,  p.  421. 
Wellington  and  Southern  Groups,  p.  424.  Tierra  del  Fuego,  p.  426.  Hydrography 
of  Chili,  p.  428.  The  Chilian  Lakes,  p.  432.  Climate,  p.  432.  The  Chilian  Nitrate- 
fields,  p.  434.  Climate  of  Chiloe  and  Fuegia,  p.  436.  Flora  of  Chili,  p.  438.  Fauna, 
p.  440.  Inhabitants,  p.  441.  The  AraucMuians,  p.  442.  The  Fuegions,  p.  446. 
The  Chilions,  p.  447.  Topography,  p.  448.  Materiitl  Condition  of  Chi  i,  p.  468. 
Agriculture,  p.  408.  Mineral  Uesources,  p.  470.  Manufactures— Trade,  p.  471. 
Administration,  p.  474. 

Appendix  -  Statistical  Tables    .'        .>       .        .        .»,..... 


354—396 


397—477 


.(,: 


Iksex 


478-496 


497—604 


I  ^ 


;**  = 


X 


1'  I  «ii  I  i).iv  L  ■Lit'<n,!"iBi.'ri^^v>iiywrwtr 


••ip»"rw^f»n« 


'  .rUlt—t^.'yiii  I  >.<«^i.«m 


m/iytnumfif^f>n  w».'«..n«nmji,iwi|»i>nimjw>>»iiiiiiji,» ,11,11 


206—273 


271-353 


354—396 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


MAPS    TRmTED    IN    COLOURS. 


397—477 


Caracas  and  La  Guiiira    , 
Bogota  and  its  EnvironH  . 


PilOB 

112 
184 


Lima  from  Chancay  to  Paohaoamao 
Valparaiso  and  iSantiago  . 


PAOB 

322 
458 


PLATES. 


478-496 
497—604 


Group  of  Antis  (Peruvian  Campos) .        Fronli-ipieee. 
AtureH  liapids,   Orinoco — View  taken  at  the 

Cerro  Perriquito  .  .  To  face  page  3 
Ceiba  Trees  near  Bolivar,  Venezuela  .  .  35 
The  Asphalt  Lake,  Trinidad  .  .  .  .01 
General  View  of  Willemsted  (Santa  Ana  de 

Cura9ao) 74 

Group  of  Quaraunos  Indians   ....     106 

General  View  of  Carupano  .  .109 

Lake  Dwellings  of  Santa  Bosa,   near  Mani- 

oaibo         .         .        .        .         .  .120 

General  View  of  Ciudad  Bolivar      .  ,123 

Old  Spanish  Fortifloations  at  Puerto  Bello       .     134 
Sierra  de  Santa  Marta— East  View  taken  at 

Punta  Tapias 140 

Bongo  on  the  Rio  Magdale  a  .         .                 .156 
Muysca  Indians,  adorned  with  Antique  Jewel- 
lery   169 

Columns  of  an  Indian  Temple  at  San  Agustin      180 

Street  View,  La  Mesa 186 

Landing  Stage  on  the  Magdalena,   near  the 

Sogamoso  Confluence 
General  View  of  Ocafla    .... 
Santa  Marta— View  taken  from  the  North 
Ibarra,  and  the  Imbabura  Volcano  . 
Pueblo  de  San  Mateo,  East  of  Lima 


190 
196 
204 
224 
226 


West  View  of  Cotopaxi,  taken  near  Santa  Ana 
deTuipullo       .  .        To  face  page 

East  View  of  Quito  and  Mount  Pichincha,  seen 
from  La  Loma  de  Poingasi 

Guayaqiiil 

Arequipa  and  Mount  Misti      .... 

Group  nf  Peruvians 

Gener  >  View  o'  Lima,  taken  from  the  South  . 
GuaL.   :;-l.<i,  Chincha  Islands— View  taken  in 

187' 

Cathedral  of  Cuzco 338 

Buildings  of  the  Incas  on  the  Cerro  de  Las 

Carceles  at  Ollantai-Tumbo 
Antofagasta — View  taken  from  the  Quay 
Lake  Titicaca,  and  Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  the 
Virgins,  Coati  Island        .... 
Mojos  Indians  .  .      .  '     ,   ,     , 

Cape  Pillar  ... 

Araucanian  Cacique  and  his  Staff    . 
Alakaluf  Fuegians,  dressed  in  Hnanaco  Skins 
Iquique— View  taken  from  the  Sea 

Tocopilla 

Valparaiso— View  tiken  from  the  Harbour 
Santiago— View  taken  opposite  the  Cerro  de 

Santa  Lucia ^gg 

Chilian — Market-Plaoe 470 


227 

250 
254 
282 
314 
322 

326 


339 
354 

362 
372 
425 

442 
446 
450 
453 

457 


vi 


LiaT  OF   ILLUSTUATIONS. 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


d' 


no. 

1. 
2. 
3. 


'4 


9. 

10. 
11. 
12. 

13. 

H. 

15. 

16. 
17. 

18. 
19. 
20. 

21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
20. 
27. 
28. 
29, 
30. 
31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 
35, 
36. 
87, 
38. 
39. 


pAoa 

no. 

4 

40. 

6 

41. 

42. 

8 

43. 

14 

44. 

10 

46. 

40. 

20 

47. 

48. 

49. 

23 

50. 

Inlmliitdblp  Rojrions  in  North  Amorica 
Iiihiil)ita)il<!  Kcjfiiiim  in  South  Amorioa 
Future  Koiit«)8  botween  Paris  and  Buenos 

Ayros    ....... 

Chief  Routes  of  the  Spanish  Conquerors  in 

Soutli  Aniorii^a  ..... 
Deterniinution  of  the  Aloridiun  of  Quito  . 
OutliuoH  of  the  Andes  and  of  the  Ka.stem 

Highlands 20 

Andbs   Sckneby.      View   takeh    at   tub 

ClIAl'PICHACA  UUIDOE,  LiMA^La  OBOVA 

Railway 

ReK'<'n  of   Oceanic  Encroachments  about 

tlio  Amazons  Estuary    .... 
Main  Geological  Divisions  of  South  Ame- 
rica         

Isothermal  Lines  of  South  America    . 
Distribution  of  Rainfall  in  South  America 
Drude's  Main  Botanical  Divisions  of  bouth 

America  ...... 

Main   Divisions   of   the   South    American 

Aborigines 

Scene  of  the  War  of  Independence  in  South 

America         ..... 
Continental    Parting- Lines    between    the 

Spanish  and  Portuguese  Domains  . 
Ethnical  Divisions  of  South  America  in  1 893 
Zones  of   Distances  between   London   or 

Paris  and  South  Americja 
Density  of  Population  in  South  America    . 

Tobago      

View  taken  at  Saint   James,   Poet   op 

Spain,  Teinidad  .         .  .         .       63 

Wipe  of  a  Rich  Hindu  Coolib      .        .      65 

Trinidad .68 

Port  of  Spain     ....  .69 

Margarita 72 

Cura(;ao 74 

Willemstad 76 

Frontiers  of  Venezuela       ....       78 

GulfofCariaco 84 

Sierra  de  Merida 86 

Mythical  Lake  of  Parima  .         .         .         .91 

Orinoco  Basin 94 

The  Oeinoco  at  Caicaea.        ...      95 

Orinoco  Delta 96 

Lake  of  Valencia 99 

Turtle  Banks  on  the  Middle  Orinoco  .  .104 
Barcelona  and  Cumana  .  .  .  .110 
Cabacas;  View  taken  above  the  Guaieb  111 
Valencia  and  Puerto  Cabello  .  .  .114 
Puerto  Cabftllo 116 


25 

28 
29 
30 

33 

40 

44 

48 
49 

51 
63 
67 


51. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
55. 
56. 

67. 
68. 
69. 
60. 
61. 

62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 

67. 
68. 
69. 
70. 
71. 
72. 
73. 
74. 

76, 

76, 
77. 
78, 
79. 
80, 
81, 
82, 
83, 

84 


Corn  and  Paraguana  Peninsula  . 
Lake  of  Maracaibo     , 
Ramifications  of  the  Ataba]><)     . 
liamifying    Streams    on    the   Brazil   and 

Venezuelan  Frontiers     . 
Maipures  and  Atures  Rapids 
AlM)rigines  of  Venezuela    . 
Yunuiuri  Oold-ndnos 
La  Gdaiba  ;  View  taken  at  Caevomal 

La  Guaira 

Political  Divisions  of  Venezuela 

Chief  Exploring  Expeditions  in  Venezuela 

and  Colombia 
Zones  of  Altitude  in  Colombia  . 
Sierra  Nevada  do  Santa  Marta  . 
Mesa  de  Herveo  and  Ruiz  Volcano 
Quindio  Pass      .... 
Colombia  Mountains . 
Teuuendama  Falls  ;  View  taken  at  tub 

Fiebt  Tebeaoe     .... 
The  Nare  Gorge         ;        .         .         . 
Inland  Delta  of  the  Magdulena  , 
Mouths  of  the  Magdaleua  . 
Mouths  of  the  Ati-ato 
Tuquerres  Plateau  and  Valley  of  the  Gua 

itarti 

Pasto  Plateau  and  the  Cocha  Basin  . 
Road  in  the  Hot  Lands,  Colomiiia 
Chief  Vegetable  Products  of  Colombia 

MuYscA  Idol 

Chief  Indian  Nations  and  Tribes  of  Colom 

bia         .... 
G«ajira  Peninsula 
Suma  Paz  Basin 
Bogota  and  its  Approaches 
Girardot  Bend  . 
Honda  and  La  Dorada  Railway 
BoYAOA  Battlepield 
Chiquinquira  and  Lake  of  Fuquone 
Socorro,    Buoaramauga,     and     Sogamo&o 

Gorges  .... 
Cucuta  District . 
Popayan  and  Guanacas  Pjss 
Upjaer  Cauoa  Valley  . 
Goldfields  of  the  Department  of  Antioqiua 
Ramifications  of  Morapos  . 
RoaJstead  and  Harbours  of  Savanilla 
Cartagena  and  its  Harbours 
Port  of  Buenaventura 
Landing- staob     at     Saloab,    Poet 

Savanilla 

,  Gommunioations  of  Colombia    . 


op 


MM 

117 
110 
121 

122 
123 
124 
128 
129 
130 
131 

136  ■ 

139 

141 

145 

146 

147 

151 
152 
153 
166 
167 

100 
161 
163 
106 
171 

175 
177 
182 
184 
186 
188 
191 
193 

194 
195 
197 
198 
200 
202 
203 
206 
208 

213 
215 


1 1 'm    II  ^ 


m»0m^m!ir^tm»^0ffft 


M 


<>iiw«i>^^  i«ii*»w m 


LIST  OP   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Brazil   and 


Jabvomal 


Venezuela 


lano 


U7 
IIU 
121 

122 
123 
124 
128 
129 
1»0 
131 

136 
139 
141 
145 
140 
147 


iKEN  AT  THE 


of  the  Gua- 

ianiii    . 

LOUIIIA 

lolombia 
D8  of  Colom- 


huone   . 
SogamobO 


\ii  Antioquia 
Lvanilla 


lol 
162 
163 
16S 
167 

IGO 
161 
103 
106 
171 

174 
177 
182 
184 
186 
188 
191 
193 

194 
196 

197 
198 
200 
202 
203 
206 
208 


Poet    of 


213 
215 


no 

VAOI 

ria. 

8.5. 

rA.voiiAmcVlkWOF  noOOTA;  TAKXNriiOM 

137. 

THK    K.\8T          .                           ... 

217 

138. 

80. 

AdniiiiiMtrativi!  Div.iionx  of  Colombia 

218 

87. 

Disjiuti'd  FiiintitTM  of  Kt^uador 

221 

139. 

88. 

Dipiililf  (/'liaiu  of  Eouadorean  VoloinwH 

231 

140. 

8». 

(^"himboni/ii 

233 

141. 

01). 

(Jo  dojfioal  Fonnation  of  Kniiador     . 

234 

142. 

01. 

Ciiiifluonoo  of  till'  (>iiayai|iiil  HivorH 

23(1 

143. 

92. 

'riiiiKiira^iiH  iiiid  I'ltxta/a  (lor^n 

237 

14t. 

03. 

Kiiinfall  iiiid  ForcMti*  of  Ecuador 

239 

UJ. 

01. 

E(M'At»OB   SCK.N'KRY  ;    ViKW  TAKE.V    O.N   THK 

140. 

Banks  of  thk  I'astaza  fast  op  Altab    241 

147. 

05. 

Iiidi^'oiioiiK  Popiilatioim  of  Etmador 

247 

148. 

90. 

Ancon  do  las  Hardiiias 

249 

97. 

Quito  and  its  EnviroiiH 

251 

149. 

9H. 

EHiiicraldaH 

252 

150. 

09. 

Ouayaqiiil  EHtuary .... 

2o4 

161. 

100. 

CiiiMHia  Banin 

250 

152. 

101. 

Loja  MoiintaiuM        .... 

2,57 

163. 

102. 

Political  DivlHions  of  EcMiador  .     ,     . 

203 

154. 

103. 

lialapaKo"  Aroliipclafiri)    . 

200 

155. 

104. 

Volcanic  Group  of  Albomarln  IslaJid 

208 

lOo. 

8(  EXKBV  IN  iNnEFATIOAHLE  FaLANP,  OaLA 

160. 

I'AdOS    AnCHIPKLAOO 

271 

157. 

100. 

Chatham  iHUnd       .... 

272 

158. 

107. 

FrontiorH  of  Peru     .  a      . 

275 

159. 

103. 

Drainage  Area  of  H  uayla.s 

280 

100. 

109. 

Zones  of  Altitude,  Peru   . 

283 

101. 

110. 

Amotape  MountainM 

.     285 

102. 

111. 

Ports  of  Chimboto  and  Casma  . 

.     288 

103. 

112. 

Pongo  de  Manserieho 

.     2rtl 

104. 

113. 

Maraflon  and  lluullaga  Confluenoo  . 

.     293 

114. 

MaraRon  and  llcayali  Confluence     . 

294 

105. 

115. 

Mantaro,  Pampas  and  Apurimao  Valley 

a     2S5 

160. 

116. 

P'mpire  of  the  Incas 

.     302 

117. 

Ancient  Hijrhways  of  the  Incas 

.     305 

107. 

118. 

Stwno  of  Quipos   .... 

.     306 

108. 

119. 

Indian  Populations  of  Peru 

.     313 

109. 

120. 

Tumboz  and  its  Deserts   . 

.     316 

170. 

121. 

Trujillo  and  Grand  Chimu 

.     318 

171. 

122. 

Caniz  and  Anoaohs  Mountains 

.     321 

172. 

123. 

Oroya  Railway         .... 

.     324 

173. 

124. 

Pisco  and  loa  .         .     "    . 

.     325 

174. 

125. 

The  Chincha  Islands  in  1858    . 

.     327 

176. 

126. 

Arequipa  Gradieut  .... 

.     328 

127. 

Arequipa 

.     329 

176. 

128. 

From  Pacasmayo  to  Cajamarca 

.     332 

177. 

129. 

Cebbo  i)B  Pasco      .... 

.     333 

178. 

130. 

Cerro  de  Pasco          .... 

.     334 

179. 

131. 

Cuzco 

.     338 

132. 

Iquitos  and  the  Napo  Confluence 

.     340 

180. 

133. 

Loreto,  Amazons- Yavari  Confluence 

.     341 

181. 

134. 

Mines  of  Peru 

.     346 

182. 

13.i. 

Commnnications  of  Peru . 

.     348 

183. 

136. 

Lima-Oboya  Railway  ;  View  takki*  a 

r 

184. 

Cbiola 

.    349 

■    .' 

Admliii»trativo  Divisions  of  Peru 

Chief  IiincrariuD  of  Explorers  in  Peru  and 

Bolivia  ..... 
Old  Like  of  the  Bolivian  Plateau 
BuNJii  of  the  .Miidre  de  Dios 
YUNOAS    ScKNKBY  Cussn.I.ANI     HacIK.NDA 

Aboriginal  Populations  of  Bolivia 

Copacabana  I'l-niiisula 

La  Paz  and  Environs 

La  Paz     Paijicr  of  Conobbss 

Potosi  and  ttuc^ro 

Chief  Miueral  Deposits  of  Bolivia 

Inteniatioual  ConiniunicatiDiis   of    B  U- 

via 

Politioal  Divisions  of  Bolivia    . 

Conquests  of  Chili    . 

Magellan  Strait 

Htaton  Island  .... 

MejiUoucs  Chain 

Parallel  Cordilleras  of  the  Chilian  Andes 

Ascent  of  the    Cumbbe  -View    taken 

FIIOM   THE    iSaI.TO    DEL    SoLDADO 

Aconcagua  and  La  Cuniliro 

Caslcha  del  I'obtim.o.  on  the  Cumhbe  . 

Volcanic  Dcscabozado  Group    . 

ChUoo 

Chonos  Archipelago  .... 

8an  Itafael  Lake      ..... 

San  Felix  and  San  Ambrosio  Isles   . 

"  Petkbboboloh  Cathedbal  " 

Rio  Laja  and  Biodio  Conflue.voe-  -Vikw 
taken  opposite  San  Rosen  ho 

Lakes  of  South  Chili  and  Puerto  M<mtt  . 

Mas  a  Tierra,  Eastern   Member  of  the 
Juan  Fernandez  Group 

Gboup  of  Abauoanians  . 

Indigenous  Populations  of  Chili 

Arioa       .  .         .      '  . 

Iquiquo 

,  Nitrate  and  Salt  Works  of  Tarapaca 
,  Copiapo  and  its  Mineral  District 
,  Genebal  View  ok  Caldsba 
.  La  Serena  and  Coquimbo 
,  Conoepcion,  the  Biobio  and  Neighbouring 
Inlets 

Chaoao  Channel 
.  Cape  Horn  Archipelago  . 

Puuta  Arenas  (Sandy  Point)     . 

MoiTjfT  Selkibk,  Juan   Femnandez   Is 
LAND 

Mines  of  Chili .... 

Communications  of  Chili . 

Central  Valley  of  South  Chili  . 

Provinces  of  Chili    . 

The   Disputed  Territory  of   Arica    and 
Taona 


▼a 

fAOII 

362 

366 
361 
304 
307 
377 
381 
384 
386 
387 
390 

392 
394 
399 
403 
406 
409 
411 

413 
414 
415 
417 
420 
422 
423 
426 
427 

429 
431 

439 
443 
446 
449 
461 
462 
454 
455 
466 

161 
463 
464 
466 

467 
469 
472 
473 
475 

476 


■w 


■,ma 


li 


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: 


r  I 


1  ^ 


TTTi  ii  I 


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Vif. 


y***. 


-^^:lU^JL!a^.^!l^Jiu-'-^■-^a^:■tl-j;i.'-^Jy»V'''•^'J^'wM4^^uwi^»W5l«iJ■»•^'M^ 


mi^rm^^rmmm^mmini'irmfm 


■ f]Hiii|iiij<" 


'■"i.,  -t 


k 


ii'^.^'m'S^^ /m. 


THE  EARTE  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GENERAL  SLKVEY  OF  THE  CONTINENT. 


BIRD'S-EYE  view  of  South  America  bIiows  that  it  forms  the  eastern 
torminiition  of  the  continental  lands  describing  a  vast  Bemictrclo 
round  the  Pacific  basin.  This  section  of  the  oceanic  periphery 
presents  far  greater  regularity  in  its  orographic  development 
than  any  other  region  of  the  globe.  Neither  in  Africa,  iu  Asia, 
nor  in  North  America  do  the  mountain  ranges  and  masses  skirting  the  ocean  at 
varying  distances  display  such  an  unbro^'cn  line  of  uplands,  nor  do  they  preserve 
more  strictly  the  aspect  of  coast  ranges. 

The  Andes  differ  also  from  all  other  continental  bystems,  such  as  the  Alps, 
Himalayas,  and  Rocky  Mountains,  in  their  far  greater  relative  importance  to  the 
respective  regions  above  which  they  rise.  The  mean  altitude  of  South  America, 
regarded  as  a  solid  mass  with  perfectly  horizontal  surface,  was  estimated  by  Hum- 
boldt at  1,160  feet.  But  according  to  later  and  more  accurate  researches  based 
on  more  detailed  cartogr;  nhic  documents,  the  continental  altitude  should  be  raised 
to  1,312  feet,  of  which  about  820  feet  should  be  assigned  to  the  mass  of  the  Andes 
system  in  an  equal  distribution  over  all  the  land  standing  above  sea-level. 

CoNFlGUEATION  OF   THE  CONTINENT. 

The  form  of  South  America,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  other  continents,  is 
one  of  those  topics  that  have  been  most  frequently  discussed  by  geographers.  The 
analogy  presented  by  the  contour-lines  of  the  southern  section  of  the  New  World 
with  those  of  Africa  and  Australia  had  already  been  noticed  by  Buffon  and  other 


■'it' 


m:' 


mm 


2 


SOUTH  AMEEICA— THE  ANDES  EEGIONS. 


I'M 


observers  in  the  last  century.  Favourite  subjects  of  comment  have  been  the 
contrasts  offered  by  the  three  continental  regions  of  the  southern  hemisphere  to 
those  of  the  north,  not  only  in  their  more  massive  outlines,  less  indented  by 
marine  inlets,  less  diversified  by  great  peninsulas,  but  also  in  other  salient  physical 
features,  as  well  as  in  their  respective  geographical  positions.  Attention  has  like- 
wise been  called  to  the  harmonious  correspondence  in  the  general  disposition  of 
Africa  and  South  America,  their  great  fluvial  basins  facing  each  other,  their  most 
advanced  headlands  of  Upper  Guinea  and  Brazil  projecting  from  either  side  of 
the  Atlantic  as  if  to  meet  in  mid-ocean. 

Nor  have  physical  geographers  failed  to  notice  the  resemblance  in  the  contour- 
lines  of  the  two  main  sections  of  the  New  World  itself,  both  of  triangular  form, 
with  apex  pointing  southwards,  and  with  orographic  and  hydrographic  systems 
presenting  many  features  in  common.  Here  the  chief  contrasts  between  the 
northern  and  southern  divisions  are,  in  fact,  mainly  due  to  the  differences  of  latitude, 
compared  with  which  the  diversities  of  outline  are  of  relatively  slight  importance. 
Such  diversities,  however,  require  to  be  carefully  noted.  South  America,  with 
far  more  clearly  marked  periphery,  is  sharply  limited  in  the  north-west  by  the 
fluvial  valley  of  the  Atrato,  which  is  connected  by  a  very  low  pass  with  the 
marshy  gulf  of  San  Juan,  Thus  the  continent,  taken  as  a  whole,  may  Is  •.'egarded 
as  a  vast  insular  region  somewhat  analogous  to  Australia. 

Far  more  irregular  in  its  broad  outlines  is  the  North  American  continent, 
which  tapers  southward?,  through  the  long  sinuous  stem  of  Central  America  form- 
ing a  prolongation  of  f^e  Mexican  uplands.  At  its  opposite  extremity  the  northern 
coastlands  are  intermingled  with  a  labyrinth  of  largo  islands  and  archipelagoes, 
clothed  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  with  a  snowy  mantle,  and  soldered 
together  by  a  continuous  icecap.  In  this  direction  the  dimensions  of  the  North 
American  seaboard  can  scarcely  be  accurately  determined,  the  extremely  vague 
estimates  of  its  actual  extent  depending  on  summary  and  in  part  contradictory 
surveys.  In  fact,  the  northern  regions  are  merged,  so  to  say,  in  the  mysterious 
waters  of  the  Arctic  seas.  Hence  the  northern  division  of  the  New  World,  although 
occupying  a  larger  superficial  area,  is  inferior  to  the  southern  continent  in  the 
extent  of  its  habitable  lands.  Not  more  than  two-thirds  of  its  surface  is  really  at 
the  service  of  civilised  man. 


The  Seaboard. 

Till  recently  all  geographers,  in  common  with  Carl  Ritter,  pointed  to  the  more 
diversified  character  of  its  coast-lines  as  a  great  advantage  enjoyed  by  the  northern 
over  the  southern  continent.  One-half  of  its  seaboard  abounds  in  islands  and 
peninsulas,  such  as  the  Polar  Archipelago,  the  Aleutian  group,  the  West  Indies, 
Califoraia,  Florida,  and  Central  America,  whereas  the  southern  continent  presents 
a  scarcely  indented  coast  line,  with  but  few  and  small  peninsulas,  unless  thePata- 
gonian  extremity  itself  may  be  considered  as  a  sort  of  peninsular  region.  The 
islands,  nowhere  numerous  except  on  the  austral  coasts,  are  disposed  close  to  the 
mainland,  so  as  to  scarcely  disturb  the  general  uniformity  of  the  shore-lines. 


■-«i»w*Mii!ii'>M*Mit*aHUii»iJi»»«ii>^w«>toi»iii»ii»iw>»i»»ii^ 


riiii'iiiiiiiiiiiill«iiiiiii>iil>niii*Wir 


Ti^aLmiaiili'MiiBhiiiiwaMiti 


"tnfc tun 


have  been  the 
hemisphere  to 
18  indented  by 
ilient  physical 
ation  has  like- 
disposition  of 
her,  their  most 
either  side  of 

in  the  contour- 
'iangular  form, 
raphic  systems 
J  between  the 
ces  of  latitude, 
ht  importance. 
America,  with 
ih-west  by  the 
pass  with  the 
»y  Is  i'egarded 

can  continent, 
America  form- 
y  the  northern 
archipelagoes, 
and  soldered 
of  the  North 
tremely  vague 
;  contradictory 
he  mysterious 
orld,  although 
Dtinent  in  the 
ice  ia  really  at 


ed  to  the  more 
y  the  northern 
in  islands  and 
i  West  Indies, 
inent  presents 
iless  the  Pata- 
•  region.  The 
I  close  to  the 
)re-line8. 


■fnii'W'iiir^ 


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HYDEOORAPHY  OP  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


V. ' 


o 

I 


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^ 


§ 


OS 

a 


Nevertheless,  this  difference  in  the  relative  proportion  of  indentations  and 
archipelagoes  fringing  the  two  continents  docs  not  possess  the  importance  which 
has  been  claimed  for  it.  An  abundance  of  islands  and  peninsulas  does  not  neces- 
sarily constitute  an  advantage  in  itself,  and  may  even  be  a  drawback.  Every- 
thing, in  fact,  depends  on  the  special  conditions  presented  by  each  of  the  geo- 
graphical divisions.  Thus  the  West  Indies  have  become  the  "Jewel  of  the  New 
World,"  thanks  to  their  happy  position  at  the  confluence  of  the  oceanic  currents 
and  in  the  forefront  of  the  Caribbean  Sea ;  thanks  also  to  their  climate,  to  their 
natural  resources,  and  to  the  facilities  of  communication  from  port  to  port. 

But  the  snowy  lands  of  the  Far  North,  washed  by  the  Frozen  Ocean,  remain 
absolutely  uninhabitable  ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  they  can  ever  attract  any  settlers. 
They  may  at  most  continue  to  be  visited  by  seekers  for  gold  and  peltries,  or  by  a 
few  travellers  anxious  to  study  nature  under  its  sternest  aspects  of  dreariness 
and  desolation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  North  American  peninsulas,  such  as 
Nova  Scotia,  South  California,  and  even  Florida,  are  far  from  possessing  the 
same  economic  value  for  intending  immigrants  as  the  mainland  itself. 

River  Systems. 

But  in  both  continental  divisions  the  marine  inlets,  offering  points  of  easy 
access  to  navigation,  are  increased  ten  or  even  a  hundred  fold  by  the  network  of 
fluvial  or  lacustrine  arteries  ramifying  throughout  the  interior.  In  this  respect 
the  twin  continents  are  equally  favoured  in  comparison  with  the  various  sections 
of  the  Old  World.  South  America  certainly  lacks  the  vast  fresh-water  basins 
characteristic  of  the  North  ;  even  Titicuca,  its  largest  lake,  although  traversed  by 
small  vessels,  is  an  isolated  basin  in  an  upland  depression  of  the  Andes,  uncon- 
nected with  any  other  lines  of  communication  by  water.  But  to  the  ramifying 
system  of  the  Mississippi,  with  its  17,000  or  18,000  miles  of  navigable  highways, 
South  America  may  oppose  the  Amazons,  largest  river  on  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
with  a  development  of  deep  channels  at  least  twice  as  extensive  as  that  of  the 
Mississippi  basin. 

To  this  vast  network  of  inland  waterways  must  be  added  the  Orinoco  basin, 
which  also  abounds  in  navigable  streams,  and  the  River  Plate  system,  which 
includes  the  Paraguay,  Parana,  and  Uruguay,  and  which  rivals  the  Mississippi 
itself  in  the  extent  of  its  convergent  watercourses.  Moreover,  South  America 
is  distinguished  amongst  all  the  continents  by  the  absence  of  clear  parting-lines 
between  its  great  fluvial  basins.  To  a  certain  extent  all  the  hydrographic  systems 
from  the  Orinoco  delta  to  the  La  Plata  estuary  may  be  said  to  be  merged  in  a 
single  fluvial  basin. 

So  far  as  regards  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazons,  the  union  is  complete,  thanks 
to  the  ramifying  waters  of  the  upper  Orinoco,  which  are  discharged  in  one 
direction  southwards  through  the  Caasiquiare,  and  in  another  straight  to  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  forcing  their  way  at  the  Maipures  and  Atures 
rapids  over  the  rocky  remains  of  eroded  mountain  barriers. 

Although  between  the  Amazons  and  La  Plata  basins  the  communications  are 


4* 


SOUTH  AMEEICA— THE  ANDES  EEOIONS. 


more  obstructed,  tho  water-parting  presents  at  various  points  certain  tracts  of 
undecided  slope,  where  the  spring  or  swamp  waters  flow  now  in  one  direction,  now 
in  another,  according  to  tho  sot  of  the  winds,  the  abundance  of  local  rains, 
the  alluvial  deposits,  or  the  effects  of  landslips.  At  the  foot  of  tho  Bolivian 
Andes  the  various  branches  of  tho  Mamor<5  and  Pilcomayo  seem  interlaced, 
and  lower  down   tho  level  plains  are  dotted  over   with   marshy  tracts,  whose 

Fig.  1. — Ikhabitable  Regions  in  Nobth  Ahebku.. 
Soal«  1 :  70,000,000. 


BO* 


West  or  Greenwich 


AriddMHrU. 


llonsaei. 


Glaeial  lonM. 

990  MUei. 


InbaUtable  lands. 


sluggish  waters  drain  to  both  basins.  In  the  heart  of  tho  continent  the  upper 
affluents  of  the  Guapor^  and  the  Jauru  are  merged  together  during  the  rainy 
season.  The  Rio  Alogre,  a  tributary  of  the  Amazons,-  has  its  source  on  the 
southern  slope  of  the  continent,  and  traverses  a  marshy  parting-line  before 
sweeping  round  the  Serra  Agoapehy  range  of  hills  on  its  northern  course  to  the 
Quapor^.     Nothing   would  be  easier  than  to  establish  a   permanent  connection 


in  tracts  of 
•ection,  now 
local  raina, 
le  Itolivian 
interlaced, 
acts,  whoae 


7V 


■^T'flrTTr^ 


!_'t;|!iy-''"'!;  T.TOwvr^»3f 


^jl»iiWi>IWfr!W^fijiW.«ii 


^• 


'9k 


EO' 


70° 


at  the  upper 
ig  the  rainy 
ource  on  the 
g-line  before 
course  to  the 
it  connection 


nYDEOGRAPHT  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA.  5 

between  the  two  fluvial  systems,  either  by  a  series  of  portages,  or  by  cutting  a 
canal  four  or  five  miles  long  across  the  divide.  Other  interminglings  of  river 
basins  have  also  been  develoiied  farther  east  between  the  eastern  affluents  of 
the  Paraguay  and  the  Arinos,  a  main  branch  of  the  Amazonian  Tapajoz,  and 
attempts  to  connect  them  by  cuttings  were  made  in  the  years  1713  and  1845. 

Fig.  2.— Inhabitablk  Reoions  in  South  A:^bioa. 

Beale  t  :  70,000,000. 


Horaaaea. 


Oladal  lonea. 
QSOUilea. 


InfaaUUble  landf. 


Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  South  American  hydrographic  system  is  remarkable 
for  the  prodigious  volumes  which  are  carried  seawards  by  the  main  arteries,  and 
much  of  which  expands  in  the  interior,  not  into  deep  lacustrine  depressions,  but 
in  lateral  backwaters  and  labyrinths  of  temporary  channels,  varying  from  year  to 
year,  and  from  season  to  season,  with  the  periodical  flooding  and  subsidence  of 
the  main  streanu. 


6 


SOUTH  AMEBICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


Geologists  who  have  studied  tho  contours  and  general  incline  of  these  inland 
regions  find  that  tho  movement  of  waters  has  been  developed  in  two  principal 
directions,  one  parallel  with  tho  meridian,  and  indicated  chiefly  by  the  trend  of 
the  Paraguay  and  of  the  Parana,  the  other  intersecting  the  first  at  right  angles, 
and  flowing  from  the  Andes  to  the  Atlantic.  The  Amazons,  a  "  liquid  equator," 
as  it  has  been  called,  follows  the  main  axis  of  this  second  hydrographic  system. 
The  aspect  presented  by  the  semicircle  of  the  Andes  botwoen  the  Bogota  and 
Bolivian  plateaux  attests  the  vast  work  of  erosion  that  has  been  accomplished 
in  this  upland  region.  The  eastern  slope  of  the  Cordilleras  has  evidently  been 
eaten  away  by  the  running  waters  to  an  enormous  extent ;  numerous  lateral  ridges 
have  been  entirely  levelled,  and  their  triturated  debris  has  been  distributed  by 
the  streams  over  the  beds  of  great  inland  seas,  which  at  one  time  occupied  tho 
central  region  of  the  continent.  The  sedimentarv  matter  thus  carried  down 
towards  the  fluvial  estuaries  was  regarded  by  Humboldt  as  of  old  red  sandstone 
origin,  while  Martins  attributed  it  to  triassic  formations.  But  in  reality  these 
deposits  are  comparatively  recent  quaternary  clays  and  sands,  and  according  to 
Agassiz  are  partly  of  glacial  origin. 

The  part  of  the  Andean  system  that  has  best  resisted  the  fluvial  action  is  the 
huge  mass  of  the  Bolivian  uplands.  This  central  fortress  of  the  South  American 
rampart  is  no  less  than  500  miles  broad  between  the  escarpments  which  plunge 
into  the  waters  of  tho  Pacific  and  the  eastern  plains  still  roamed  by  the  nomad 
Indians ;  but  a  little  farther  north,  in  the  very  axis  of  the  Amazons,  under  3° 
south  latitude,  the  main  range  of  the  Cordilleras  is  reduced  to  a  thickness  of 
scarcely  more  than  120  miles. 

East  of  Bolivia  the  hcadstreams,  which  trend  some  to  the  Amazons,  some  to 
the  Paraguay  basin,  have  not  been  strong  enough  to  sweep  away  the  Andean 
foothills.  Along  the  parting-line  the  expanse  of  level  plains  intervening  between 
the  paleozoic  Andean  rocks  and  those  of  the  Brazilian  plateaux  has  a  normal 
breadth  of  no  more  than  250  miles  ;  towards  the  centre  it  is  studded  with  nume- 
rous hills  and  isolated  ridges,  surviving  witnesses  of  the  crystalline  nucleus  and 
other  formations  which  at  one  time  occupied  the  whole  continent  from  sea  to  sea. 
The  passages  which  the  Amazons  and  the  Orinoco  have  had  to  cut  for  themselves 
through  the  coast  ranges  are  much  narrower  still  than  this  central  depression. 
Between  the  Tapajoz  and  Xingu  mouths  the  Amazons  valley  is  scarcely  60  miles 
broad  from  hill  to  hill. 


Forests  and  Habitable  Lands. 

The  enormous  excess  of  pluvial  waters  which  distinguishes  the  southern 
continent,  and  which  has  created  this  astonishing  system  of  ramifying  streams, 
has,  however,  conferred  little  more  than  a  nominal  advantage  on  its  inhabitants, 
at  least  in  the  equatorial  zone.  Such  liquid  masses  are  too  copious,  too  irregular 
in  their  regime  to  be  controlled  by  man,  who  till  recently  has  scarcely  been 
able  to  utilibe  them  even  for  navigation.  Moreover,  the  tepid  and  oppressive 
climate  has  hitherto  been  opposed  to  the  acclimatisation  of  the  white  and  half- 


FOBESrS— COMMUNICATIONS. 


ese  inland 
I  principal 
le  trend  of 
;bt  angles, 
equator," 
ic  system, 
logota  and 
jomplislied 
ently  been 
eral  ridges 
ributed  by 
cupied  the 
rried  down 
[  sandstone 
sality  tbese 
scording  to 

tion  is  the 
1  American 
ich  plunge 
the  nomad 
8,  under  3 
thickness  of 


caste  races  in  largo  numbers.  The  soil,  with  its  excessive  fertility,  has  clothed 
itself  with  continuous  woodlands,  a  tangled  muss  of  vegetation  overflowing  with 
sap,  where  whole  generations  will  be  unnble  to  effect  more  that  a  few  narrow 
clearings. 

The  Amazonian  forest,  which  the  Spaniards  cull  the  Se/va  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense,  and  which  is  continued  southwards  by  the  Mutto  Grosso  of  the  Portuguese, 
covers  a  space  estimated  at  2,800,000  square  miles.  In  this  boundless  expanse 
travellers,  and  even  the  seekers  for  rubber,  ipecacuanha  and  other  medicinal  or 
economic  products,  have  for  the  most  part  no  knowledge  of  the  Selva  beyond  the 
winding  avenues  opened  in  its  uhade  by  the  rivers  and  backwaters.  This  densely 
timbered  and  almost  uninhabited  region  separates  the  low-lying  Venezuelan  plains 
from  those  of  Bolivia  more  effectually  than  if  it  were  an  absolute  desert. 

Thus,  despite  its  immense  wastes  of  snow  and  ice,  despite  its  tundras  of  mosses 
and  lichens,  which  occupy  about  one-third  of  its  whole  area.  North  America  offers 
at  the  present  day  a  far  more  favourable  territory  for  settlement  than  the  southern 
continent.  Its  chief  advantage  is  that  the  temperate  zone,  which  is  best  suited 
for  the  development  and  prosperity  of  the  white  race,  comprises  its  broader  part, 
where  the  United  States  have  been  constituted.  In  South  America,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  corresponding  section  begins  where  the  land,  already  considerably  con- 
tracted between  the  two  oceans,  continues  to  taper  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the 
austral  seas.  Measured  on  Berghmunnls  map  by  the  isothermal  lines  of  46°  and 
68°  Fahr.,  this  climatic  zone  comprises  over  4,000,000  square  miles  in  the  northern, 
and  somewhat  less  than  2,000,000  in  the  southern  continent. 


ns,  some  to 
the  Andean 
ing  between 
IS  a  normal 
with  nume- 
nucleus  and 
1  sea  to  sea. 
•  themselves 
,  depression. 
«ly  60  miles 


he  southern 
ing  streams, 
inhabitants, 
too  irregular 
jarcely  been 
d  oppressive 
le  and  half- 


COMMUNICATIONS. 

Another  disadvantage  of  the  South  compared  with  the  North  as  a  region  of 
colonisation  results  from  its  more  remote  position  from  the  other  great  divisions 
of  the  globe.  Apart  from  the  Antarctic  polar  lands,  South  America  is  farther 
removed  than  any  other  continental  region  from  the  great  commercial  marts,  and 
from  the  most  densely-peopled  countries — West  Europe,  India,  and  China — whose 
central  point  about  coincides  with  the  middle  of  the  Eastern  llemisphere.  Never- 
theless, steam  has  helped  greatly  to  shorten  the  time  formerly  occupied  in  the 
voyage  from  the  European  Atlantic  ports  to  those  of  Colombia,  Brazil,  and 
Argentina.  With  the  resources  supplied  by  the  mechanical  arts,  it  may  even  be 
possible  in  the  near  future  to  bring  the  eastern  ports  of  Brazil  practically  as  near 
to  London  and  Paris  as  are  New  York  and  Montreal  at  present. 

The  South  American  coastlands  are  already  directly  connected  by  regular  lines 
of  steamships  with  those  of  Europe,  but  the  construction  of  the  projected  north- 
west African  railways  may  even  reduce  by  one-half  the  journey  between  these 
points.  In  this  respect  the  "  Trans-Saharan "  trunk  line  should  be  regarded 
as  of  more  importance  for  South  America  than  for  Europe.  Some  French  specu- 
lators, inspired  more  by  colonial  patriotism  than  by  economic  interests,  are  at 
present  occupied  with  various  schemes  for  connecting  by  rail  the  Mediterranean 
seaboard  with  the  Sahara,  Sudan,  and  Senegal.  " 


•;'*«#-■ 


'^£r 


8 


SOUTU  AMEIIICA— THE  ANDES  BEOIONS. 


Doubtless  a  line  running  from  Algiers  to  liuke  Chad,  and  continued  south- 
■warde  to  the  Ubanghi  and  the  Congo,  would  at  some  future  time  possess  an  un- 
deniable value  in  developing  and  utilising  the  still  untouched  resources  of  those 
regions.  Hut  the  lines  already  begun  at  rhilippevillc,  Algiers,  and  Orun  would, 
if  continued  south-westwards  to  Dakar,  present  the  advantage  of  not  only  con- 
necting Algeria  and  Senegal  in  a  single  commercial  and  political  zone,  but,  as  has 
already  been  pointed  out  by  the  engineers,  would  also  serve  to  swell  the  great 
stream  of  international  traffic  between  Europe  and  South  America.     Swift-sailing 


Fig.  3. — FcTUEB  Routes  between  Pauis  and  Bubmos  Atbb8. 

Scale  I  :  110,000,000. 


50' 


Weat  oP  Grterwicti 


BailTTttys. 


Projeoted  RailwaTS.  Steamers. 

._^^^.^_  1,240  Miles. 


P 

in 


liners,  such  as  those  now  plying  between  Liverpool  and  New  York,  could  cross 
the  Atlantic  between  Dakar  and  the  Brazilian  ports  of  Natal  and  Pernambuco  in 
less  than  three  days  ;  and  on  this  short  route  at  one  cf  the  narrowest  parts  of  the 
ocean,  passengers  would  have  the  pleasure  of  sighting  lai.d  twice,  at  the  islands 
of  Sao  Paulo  and  Fernando  Noronha.  The  great  Transatlintic  lino  connecting 
the  three  continents  might  also  be  continued  by  a  coast  raih/ay  from  Pernambuco 
to  Buenos  Ayres,  with  branches  ramifying  into  the  interior  of  the  continent.  By 
this  route,  at  the  present  speed  of  the  most  powerful  engines,  the  traveller  might 


;4;uj.L.j  jsr 


mtmmr 


i.n  III  Ml'  mti 


id  south- 
I  an  un- 
of  those 
m  would, 
)nly  con- 
ut,  as  has 
the  great 
ift-suiliiig 


0* 


ould  cross 
lambuco  in 
larts  of  the 
he  islands 
connecting 
ernambuco 
nent.  By 
ller  might 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  SEABOARD.  9 

reach  Buouos  Ayres   from  Paris   in  eleven   days,  that  is,  in  a  third  of  the  time 
occupied  by  existing  lines.* 

Exploration  of  the  Seaboard. 

The  work  of  discovery,  begun  in  North  America  centuries  before  the  time  of 
Columbus,  was  retarded  in  the  southern  continent  by  its  greater  distance  from  the 
populous  and  trading  lands  of  the  Old  World.  No  Norse  sea-rover  ever  landed 
on  its  shores ;  no  legend  anterior  to  the  age  of  the  great  navigators  speaks  of 
mysterious  islands  dimly  seen  by  monks  wandering,  like  St.  Brendan,  in  these 
remote  waters  of  the  austral  hemisphere ;  the  pretended  Phooniciun  inscription 
suid  to  have  been  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Purnahyba,  in  equatorial  Brazil,  was 
no  more  authentic  than  so  many  others  reported  from  various  parts  of  the  New 
World. 

The  Spanish  caravels  had  already  been  plying  for  six  years  in  the  AVest  Indian 
waters,  when  Columbus,  in  1498,  reached  the  mainland  near  the  Orinoco  delta. 
He  recognised  the  importance  of  this  immense  watercourse ;  but  he  explored  none 
of  its  branches,  and,  escaping  from  the  Gulf  of  Paria  by  one  of  the  "  Dragon's 
Mouths,"  where  the  marine  currents  clash,  ho  hastily  returned  to  his  mines  and 
plantations  in  Espauola. 

Next  year  Peralonso  Nino  and  Cristobal  Guerra  landed  in  their  turn  on  the 
shores  of  the  mainland,  which  they  traced  for  some  distance  in  the  direction  of  the 
west,  trading  as  they  went  with  the  natives.  Then  followed  a  few  months  later  the 
memorable  expedition  of  Hojeda,  who  was  accompanied  by  the  learned  pilots, 
Juan  de  la  Cosa  and  Amerigo  Vespucci.  The  party  extended  its  explorations  for 
over  600  miles  between  the  muddy  shores  of  the  present  Guiana  and  the  peninsula 
roamed  by  the  Goajiros  Indians,  west  of  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  Bastidas  de  Sevilla  com- 
pleted the  survey  of  the  Columbian  coastlands  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Uraba.  About 
the  same  time  the  shores  of  the  continent  facing  Africa  were  also  visited  by 
European  navigators.  Vicente  Pinzon  explored  the  coasts  and  fluvial  estuaries 
of  the  Guianas,  sailed  into  the  "  Freshwater  Sea "  encircling  the  Amazonian 
island  of  Marajo,  and  coasted  the  shores  of  the  present  Brazil  to  and  beyond  its 
easternmost  headland  of  Cape  Sfto  Roque.  Diego  de  Lepo  traversed  the  same 
waters,  while  Alvarez  Cabral,  striking  the  land  at  Porto  Seguro  farther  south, 
reported  the  discovery  of  the  "island"  of  Santa  Cruz,  which  subsequent  discoveries 
showed  to  be  a  part  of  the  continental  seaboard  visited  by  his  predecessors. 

Then  Amerigo  Vespucci  traced  the  coastline  as  far  as  the  bay  of  Cananea,  south 
of  the  present  Brazil,  and  hither  came  Gonneville  and  other  Normans  of  Dieppe 

•  Dimensious  of  South  America  according  to  Ch.  Perron  : — 

Sapcrficial  area  with  adjacent  and  dependent  ifilanda  .         .      6,740,000  aq.  miles. 

Mean  area  of  the  other  continents  with  their  islands  .         .      8,950,000  sq.  miles. 

Coastline  18,000  miles. 

Extreme  length 4,. 500  miles. 

Extreme  breadth .-       .         3,100  miles. 

f        Extreme  distance  from  the  centre  to  the  coast 1,740  miles. 


f'J 


w 


111 


10 


HOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDKS  HKOIONS. 


in  search  of  BpiocH.*  Thcso  wore  soon  followed  by  Vicente  Pinzon  and  Diaz  de 
Solis,  who  in  1009  entered  a  grout  river  which  six  years  later  Solis  surveyed 
more  in  detail.  This  was  the  vast  southern  estuary  which  receives  the  two  rivers, 
Uruguay  and  Parana,  and  which  was  at  first  named  the  Ilio  do  Solis,  But  when 
Sebastian  Cabot  discovered,  in  lol^H,  that  tho  Parana  brunch  led  inland  in  the 
direction  of  tho  Peruvian  silver-mines,  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of  the  liio 
de  la  Plata  ("  Silver  River"),  which  tho  estuary  still  bears. 

Magellan's  memorable  expedition  of  l^y20-2l  completed  the  discovery  of  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  the  New  World  as  fur  us  tho  entrance  of  tho  strait  which  sepa- 
rates the  maitdand  from  the  Fuegian  archipelago.  Six  years  later,  Francisco  do 
IIoccs,  one  of  Loaysa's  companions,  coasted  the  senboard  without  entering  the 
strait,  and  thus  reached  the  southern  extremity  of  Tierra  del  Fuogo  close  to  the 
point  where  the  two  oceans  intermingle  their  waters.  But  although  the  sailors 
taking  part  in  the  expedition  unanimously  declared  that  they  had  seen  the  "land's 
end,"  these  shores  were  not  accurately  traced  till  the  next  century,  when  Lo 
Muiro  rounded  Gupe  Horn  in  1G16. 

The  west  coast  of  South  America  being  further  removed  from  Europe,  its 
survey  was  naturally  subsequent  to  that  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  Thirty  years 
followed  the  discovery  of  Guanahani  before  Andagoya,  advancing  beyond  the  Gulf 
of  Panama,  coasted  tho  shores  of  the  Pacific  in  the  direction  of  the  mysterious  Biru, 
or  Piru  (Peru),  which  Francisco  Pizarro  went  in  search  of  two  years  later.  In 
1527  he  reached  Tumbez,  its  northernmost  point,  just  below  the  Gulf  of  Guaya- 
quil ;  and  thenceforth  the  discovery  of  its  shores  and  alpine  coastlands  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  conquest  of  the  Peruvian  empire.  In  1534  Almagro  had 
already  pushed  across  the  elevated  plateau  of  the  Andes  and  the  Atacama  desert 
as  far  as  the  northern  districts  of  Chili. 

In  15-10  Valdivia  penetrated  still  farther  south  along  the  narrow  strip  of 
Chilian  coastlands  between  the  crest  of  the  Andes  and  the  Pacific.  But  here  all 
further  exploration  of  the  seaboard  in  the  direction  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  was  long 
arrested.  Little,  in  fact,  was  done  before  the  present  century  beyond  making  a 
summary  survey  of  the  coast  as  seen  from  the  ocean.  A  ship  belonging  to 
Loaysa's  squadron  had  certainly  passed  through  the  Struit  of  Magellan  towards 
Mexico  so  early  as  1526,  but  its  course  lay  too  far  seawards  even  to  sight  the  coast 
of  Chili.  Fourteen  years  later  Alonzo  de  Camargo,  following  in  tho  same  direc- 
tion from  the  strait  towards  Callao,  kept  near  enough  inshore  to  determine  the 
exact  trend  of  the  continent  along  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  1579  Sarmiento,  one  of  Spain's  best  pilots,  made  the  voyage  in  the  opposite 
direction  from  north  to  south,  and  the  coastline,  as  traced  by  him,  gave  a  toler- 
ably correct  reproduction  of  its  true  form.  Drake,  also,  studying  the  best  routes 
by  which  the  Spanish  settlements  might  be  surprised,  contributed  not  a  little  to  a 
more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  southern  coastlands.  Their  exploration  is  still 
continued,  and  must  last  some  time  longer  before  complete  surveys  can  be  made  of 


*  D'Avezao,  KouulUt  Anmlu  de$  Voyages,  1869. 


EXPLORATION  OF  THE  INTRRIOB. 


11 


Diaz  (le 
urvoycd 
a  rivers, 
it  when 
I  in  the 
the  lUo 

y  of  the 
ich  wpa- 
iicisco  do 
ring  the 
le  to  the 
ae  BuilorB 
e  "land's 
when  Lo 

urope,  its 
irty  years 
[  the  Galf 
ious  Biru, 
later.  In 
of  Guaya- 
inds  went 
nagro  had 
ma  desert 

strip  of 
t  here  all 
was  long 
making  a 
on  gin  g  to 
n  towards 
t  the  coast 
»me  direc- 
:?rmine  the 

le  opposite 
ve  a  toler- 
best  routes 
little  to  a 
on  is  still 
)e  made  of 


the  Chiloo  and  Fuogian  archijwlagoos,  with  all  thoir  intricate  passugos,  projecting 
headlands,  groups  and  chains  of  reefs  and  islands. 

Exploration  ov  iiik  Intkrior. 

If  the  cartogrni)hy  of  the  seaboard  is  not  yet  completed,  tliat  of  tho  interior  is 
oven  still  more  defective,  despite  the  thousands  of  itineraries  spread  like  a  network 
over  the  well-known  settled  regions,  and  carefully  reproduced  in  all  their  details 
on  modern  maps.  Tho  Cunquistadores  were  the  first  explorers,  and  the  geographical 
history  of  tho  continent  begins  with  the  reports  of  their  expeditions.  The 
Pizarros,  the  Almagrus,  the  Valdivias,  and  their  lieutenants  brought  under  their 
dominion  every  city,  every  civilised  tribe  throughout  tho  uplands  and  western 
valleys  of  the  Peruvian  and  Chilian  Andes. 

Farther  north,  in  the  Venezuelan  and  Colombian  regions,  other  captains  and 
leaders  of  armed  followers — Germans  in  the  service  of  the  bankers  of  Charles  V., 
or  Spanish  adventurers  in  search  of  fresh  conquests  and  new  viceroyalties — also 
forced  their  way  through  savannas,  across  mountains  and  rivers,  losing  half  or 
more  of  their  followers  on  the  march. 

Alfinger,  "  cruellest  of  the  cruel,"  roamed  as  a  hunter  of  men  the  upland 
regions,  where  are  intermingled  the  headwaters  of  the  streams  which  flow  in  one 
direction  to  the  Maracaibo  inlet,  in  another  towards  the  Rio  Magdalenn.  Ileredia, 
Cesar,  Roblcdo,  Fernandez  do  I^ugo  penetrated  into  the  mountainous  northern 
districts  of  the  present  Colombia.  Frcdemann,  after  traversing  the  overhanging 
cliffs  between  the  Venezuelan  seaboard  and  the  plains  of  the  Orinoco,  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  coast,  and  then  went  in  quest  of  the  plateaux  occupied  by  the  empire 
of  the  Muyscas.  When  at  last  he  reached  this  mysterious  region  beyond  the 
forests,  the  river  gorges  and  woodlands,  he  found  himself,  to  his  utter  amazement, 
forestalled  by  other  European  conquerors  who,  in  absolute  ignorance  of  their  rivals* 
movements,  had  penetrated  by  other  routes  to  the  same  place.  Quesada,  starting 
from  Santa  Marta,  had  ascended  the  course  of  the  Magdalcna  as  far  as  the  Open 
confluence,  whence  he  had  made  his  way  to  the  Cundinamarca  plateau,  while 
Belalcazar,  at  that  time  in  Quito,  had  arrived  at  the  same  goal  from  an  opposite 
'direction  by  traversing  the  Tuquerres  plateau  and  crossing  the  central  Cordillera 
and  the  upper  Magdalena.  Like  three  vultures  swooping  down  on  the  prey,  they 
were  fain,  much  to  their  regret,  to  share  the  booty  between  them. 

These  expeditions  towards  the  capitals  of  empires,  towards  cities  to  which 
roads  had  been  opened  by  the  natives  from  time  immemorial,  were  succeeded  by 
an  epoch  of  journeys  made  at  haphazard  towards  visionary  regions.  Nothing 
seemed  impossible  to  these  men,  who,  after  the  first  years  of  monotonous  life  in 
Spain,  suddenly  found  themselves  launched  on  a  marvellous  career  of  battles  and 
triumphs,  traversing  seas  and  continents,  and  sweeping  whole  populations  away  as 
in  a  storm.  All  the  doughty  deeds  related  in  their  romances  of  chivalry  they  had 
themselves  performed. 

There  remained  nothing  now  but  to  crown  their  work  with  miraculous 
achievements,  to  triumph  with   magio  weapons    over   dragons  and  demons,  to 


•4* 


(J. 


12 


BOUTII  A\fKHirA    TIIK  ANDES  REOIONS. 


I.1H&V 


'^m' 


u  • 


conquor  golden  piiliiccn,  piivvd  with  (liuiiioiids,  und  adorned  with  coloiinudoa  of 
glittoriiig  f^eiiiM.  Iliid  not  (^olumhun  iilrrudy  (UM'liircd  that  tho  Orinoco  irinucd 
from  the  "  Kaithly  I'limdiMo"  Y  And  no  they  sot  out  in  i\\wnt  nt  thut  njiirvollous 
hind  whfncd  tlicir  first  pan-nts  had  hcon  oxpollud  hy  tho  urcliiinm-l.  No  faihiro 
could  damp  tluur  Hiiiiguinu  hopes  or  turn  tliem  iirtido  U'om  tin's  purnuit  of  tho 
unknown.  Every  Indian  lejjfond,  every  hallucination  of  wearied  wayfarers,  every 
lloeting  mirage  outho  distant  horizon,  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  the  eager  adventurnrs 
tt  fresh  vinion  of  tho  enchanted  city  where  reigned  tho  Man  of  Gold,  tho  {mtont 
Dorado  !  For  over  a  century  u\\  the  expeditions  made  east  of  the  Andes  in  the 
Orinoco  and  Amazons  husins  wore  directed  or  inspired  hy  these  fanciful  visi<ma. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  treasure-seekers  was  tho  sumti  Diego  de  Orduz,  com- 
panion of  Cortez,  who  had  already  visited  the  crater  of  I'opocutopeti  in  tho  hope 
of  there  finding  liquid  stores  of  the  precious  tnetuls.  In  1531  he  ascended  tho 
Orinoco  to  tho  Meta  confluence,  that  is,  to  tho  great  plains  extending  from  tho 
inner  slopes  of  tho  Andes  to  tho  Amazons  baain.  Gonzalo  I'izarro,  brother  of  tho 
founder  of  Lima,  also  undertook  a  groat  journey  in  tho  quest  of  gold,  but  during 
his  descent  of  the  Rio  Napo  ho  found  nothing  more  precious  than  tho  "cinnamon- 
tree,"  which  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  as  efflcacious  us  tho  Ceylon  plant,  but 
which  has  since  been  neglected  as  worthless. 

But  the  bark  of  a  tree,  however  valuable,  could  scarcely  sufRco  to  sate  the 
greed  of  a  I'izarro.  Ho  accordingly  continued  his  route  beyond  tho  cinnamon 
forest;  but  the  morasses,  tho  impenetrable  musses  of  vegetation,  the  snags  in  the 
river,  it  rowed  his  path  with  such  difficulties  that  he  was  obliged  to  send  forward 
a  scout  to  explore  the  lower  Napo  and  tho  mainstream  of  tho  Amazons.  Unfor- 
tunately, he  placed  too  much  confidence  in  Orellana,  who  had  been  selected 
for  this  pioneer  work,  and  who  was  himself  eager,  even  at  tho  price  of  treason,  to 
acquire  tho  glory,  perhaps  the  profit  also,  of  tho  discovery.  He  accordingly 
launched  on  the  broad  stream,  drifting  with  the  current  from  island  to  island, 
from  bank  to  bank,  all  the  way  to  the  "  Freshwater  Sea  "  formed  by  the  immense 
body  of  Amazonian  waters  spread  over  the  Atlantic  floods.  For  the  first  time  the 
South  American  continent  had  been  traversed  from  shore  to  shore,  and,  as  it 
happened,  the  course  followed  nearly  coincided  with  the  equatorial  line,  not  far 
from  the  zone  where  it  acquires  its  greatest  breadth. 

This  journey  made  by  Orellana  down  the  Amazons,  and  by  his  contemporaries 
regarded  as  prodigious,  had  several  imitators  amongst  the  pioneers  and  mis- 
sionaries of  those  times.  Hut  the  voyage  up-stream  was  delayed  for  nearly 
another  century,  till  lG-'J8-9,  when  Captain  Pedro  Texeira  ascended  from  Grfto 
Para  to  the  city  of  Quito  with  a  flotilla  of  forty-seven  canoes,  containing 
70  Portuguese  soldiers,  1,200  Indian  sailors  and  soldiers,  and  the  like  nuruber  of 
women  and  children.*  '■  •-  - 

Gold-hunters  descending  from  the  upland  valleys  of  the  present  Peru  and 
Bolivia,  also  explored  the  waterpurtings    between  the  Amazons  and  La  Plata 


*  M.  J.  de  la  E»pada,  VUy't  del  Capitdn  Fedro  Texeira  Agtta*  arriba  del  £io  dt  lot  Ainazoiuu, 


■':'^.rt 


KXI'LOUATION  OF  THE  INTKUIOR. 


18 


mdo*  of 
0  iriHiiod 
irvolloun 
>  fuiluro 
t  of  tho 
rs,  ovory 
•t'liturnrs 
lO  potent 
)H  in  tho 
Uions. 
laz,  cora- 
tho  hope 
n(U'«l  tho 
from  tho 
i»>r  of  tho 
lit  (luring 
iiinumon- 
plunt,  but 

)  sato  tho 
cinnamon 
iga  in  the 
i  forward 
Unfor- 
sclocted 
;rea8on,  to 
jcordingly 
to  island, 
0  immense 
t  time  tho 
und,  as  it 
0,  not  far 

>mpoi*arie3 
and  mis- 

for  nearly 
rom  GtT&o 
ontaining 

nmiiber  of 

Peru  and 
La  Plata 

iizona*. 


banini.  SottlcmcntH  wen*  ovm  forrni>il  in  ihf  <'araviiyii  furostH,  which  clotho 
oortuin  piirtN  of  thiN  dividing  region.  Ititt  Miiolt  wiih  tho  grood  of  tho  Spaniards 
that  thoy  niurdorod  ouoh  other  to  provent  the  oovotcd  gohl-niinoa  from  fulling 
into  other  hiindn.  nf  two  mniill  hiin(U  of  advonturort  who  canio  into  cidliHion  in 
tho  milling  dint  riot,  tMt  nioro  than  throo  pontotm  tmcuped  from  tho  maHHitcro.* 
Solitude  vuN  thus  roetorcd  t(»  these  regions,  where  minions  niiglit  live  in  comfort, 
und  evon  now,  after  an  interval  of  I  reo  hundred  years,  lands  have  to  ho  again 
di8<!overod  whidi  were  visilH<i  hy  the  first  oompierors,  and  by  them  couueuted  with 
the  flourishing  cities   'n  tho  seaboard. t 

A  similar  fate  overtook  the  numerous  iniNsiona  founded  by  tlio  Franciscans, 
the  Dominicans,  and  especially  the  Jesuits,  who  groii|)ed  together  tho  savage 
populations  for  tho  purpose  of  instructing  then  in  tho  simpler  crafts  of  Kuropoan 
society,  at  t\w  same  time  teaching  tliem  to  recito  tho  ])hrase8  translated  from  tho 
catoohism  and  tho  Latin  text  of  tho  prayers  and  rc'sponsos.  Doubtless  tho  mis- 
sionaries were  not  all  attracted  to  tliose  difficult  regions  inhabited  by  formidable 
Indian  tribes  through  zeal  for  the  faith  and  tho  desire  to  evangelise  the  natives. 
A  certain  number  of  them  came  to  reduce  their  folds  to  the  condition  of  slaves ; 
nor  did  they  yield  to  the  leaders  of  military  expeditions  in  greed  for  woildly  things. 

But,  on  the  whole,  they  were  far  superior  to  these  adventurers  in  intellectual 
and  moral  worth,  and  to  them  wo  are  indebted  for  some  valuable  itineraries, 
amongst  others  those  made  by  Samuel  Fritz  in  various  parts  of  the  Upper 
Amazons  basin.  The  Lettrcs  Edifimdea,  in  which  their  reports  are  collected, 
contain  geographical  and  ethnological  documents  of  the  highest  interest.  Never- 
theless there  is  scarcely  an  Indian  village  founded  by  these  missionaries  in  the 
wilderness  that  has  survived  to  our  days.  In  the  struggle  for  existence  that 
raged  amongst  the  surrounding  populations,  the  wild  tribes,  being  of  bolder  and 
more  independent  spirit,  proved  to  be  by  fur  the  stronger  of  the  two  elements. 
The  groups  of  neophytes,  having  too  rapidly  changed  their  habits,  and  being  still 
in  an  unstable  or  transitional  stage  of  culture,  yielded  in  far  larger  numbers  to 
the  ravages  of  European  epidemics.     Nation  after  nation  was  seen   to  disappeiir 


*  Clements  Markham,  Expfditioni  into  the  Vallty 
t  Chronological  order   of   the  chief  itineraries 
difiooverieg : — 

Columbus 1498-1504 

NiBo,  Guen-a        ....     1499 
Hojeda,  Amerigo  Vespucci  .         .     1499-1501 
Bastidas,  Juan  de  la  Cosa     .         .     1500 

Pinzon 1500 

Diego  de  Lepo  ....  1500 
Alvai-ez  Cabral  .  .  .  .1600 
DeGonneville  .  .  .  .1504 
Diaz  de  Solia        ....     1509 

Magellan 1520 

Andagoya 1522 

Francisco  Pizarro  .        .         .     1624-1510 

Sebastian  Cabot    ....     1528 

Alfinger 1530 

Diego  de  Ordaz  ....  1531 
Heredia 1633 


of  the  Amazont,  Hakluyt  Society. 
in  South  America  during    the  first  century   of 

Cesar 1635 

Almag^ 1536 

Tomas  de  Berlanga       ....  1536 

Ayolas 1536 

Quesoda 1537 

Belalcazar 1637 

Fredemann 1537 

Badillo 153!) 

Valdivia 1640 

Qonzalo  Pizarro 1540 

Orellana 1540 

Camargo 1540 

Irala .  1544 

Sarmiento 1570 

Sobald  de  Wert 1598 

Juan  de  Sosa 1609 


'V 


il!-T^ 


..J 


'd 


14 


SOUTH  AMEEICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


before  these  maladies,  melting  away  like  mounds  of  snow  in 
when  it  came  to  the  issue  of  war,  the  civilised  tribes,  being 
inured  to  hardships,  less  confident  in  themselves,  assumed  a 
awaiting  the  orders  of  their  new  chiefs,  without  daring  to  take 
resisting  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  Thus  it  came  about  that 
peopled   by   peaceful   communities  again    became  a    wilderness 


the  sun.  Then, 
less  daring,  less 
passive  attitude, 
the  initiative  in 
districts  densely 
;   hundreds  and 


Fig.  4.— Chief  Routes  of  the  Spanish  CoNQUsaoBS  vn  South  Ahebioa. 

Scale  1 :  66.000,000. 


930  Ifile*. 


hundreds  of  tribes  have  left  nothing  but  their  name  more  or  less  accurately  trans- 
mitted to  posterity. 

In  the  war  of  extermination  waged  by  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Republic 
against  Paraguay,  it  was  seen  how  the  docile  populations  descended  from  those  of 
the  old  Jesuit  missions  allowed  themselves  to  be  stupidly  butchered  by  the  half- 
castes  of  the  Brazilian  plateaux.  Numerous  villages  founded  in  the  first  days  of 
the  conquest  have  disappeared,  and  beaten  tracks  hundreds  of  years  old  are/  now 


'•JTSSSEJSs^asr' 


w^.iwp  ■*<fty.,.ii''  JJ  *'''"'/7'HfpP'i!^'^'"'>»ir  '»^!^'*»''*'>''-;,;»>*^.wf  *ji^  minwiyii 


SCIENTIFIC  EXPLORATION. 


16 


n.  Then, 
iring,  less 
3  attitude, 
iitiative  in 
its  densely 
idreds  and 


^^  0 


140 


rately  trans- 

ne  Republic 
rom  those  of 
by  the  half- 
first  days  of 
old  ard  now 


overgrown  with  tall  herbage  and  trees.  The  work  of  discovery  instead  of  pro- 
gressing continued  for  a  long  time  to  recede,  so  that  the  children  began  to  doubt 
or  to  forget  what  their  fathers  had  done ;  certain  formerly  well-known  districts 
fell  into  complete  oblivion. 

During  the  long  colonial  period,  journeys  deviating  from  the  frequented  high- 
ways occurred  only  at  long  intervals.  On  the  other  hand,  even  the  most  success- 
ful expeditions  served  but  little  to  increase  the  general  knowledge  of  the  land,  for 
the  jealous  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Governments  sought  to  reserve  for  their  own 
use  the  acquired  results,  keeping  many  precious  documents  in  their  secret  archives, 
where  they  became  worm-eaten  past  recovery. 

The  navigators  of  all  nations  continued  the  systematic  survey  of  the  coastlands, 
while  the  interior  of  the  continent  still  remained  wrapped  in  a  dense  cloud  of 
ignorance.  The  detailed  reports,  accompanied,  by  maps,  which  the  officials  were 
required  to  forward  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies  on  every  province  of  the  vast 
colonial  domain,  reports  which  are  now  of  such  value  to  students,  were  never 
published,  and  remained  neglected  by  their  custodians.  Thus,  at  the  time  of  the 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  a  joint  Ilispano-Portuguese  expedition  was  made  in 
1638  up  the  Amazons  between  Para  and  Quito.  But  the  Spanish  Government, 
which  had  allowed  the  monk  Acuna  to  write  an  account  of  the  voyage,  hastened 
to  confiscate  the  book  as  soon  as  the  Portuguese  had  recovered  their  independence. 
It  feared  that  this  work,  the  first  that  gave  a  detailed  description  of  the  great 
river,  might  be  of  service  to  some  enemy.* 

The  epoch  of  scientific  exploration  began  with  the  researches  of  Feuill^e,  a 
priest  and  astronomer,  who,  in  1707-12,  made  the  circumnavigation  of  the  southern 
shores  of  America  in  order  to  determine  the  exact  position  of  a  few  points  on  the 
seaboard.  But  the  modern  geographical  history  of  the  continent  may  be  said  to 
date  from  the  time  when  Bouguer,  Godin,  La  Condamine,  and  Ulloa  undertook  the 
measurement  of  an  arc  of  i,he  meridian  of  about  three  degrees  between  the  two 
parallel  chains  of  Ecuador.  '  " 

Over  a  century  and  a  half  has  passed  since  the  memorable  year  1736,  when 
the  learned  geometricians  landed  at  Guayaquil,  and  made  their  way  to  the  group 
of  mountains  which  they  had  to  measure,  and  which  was  at  that  time  regarded  as 
the  culminating  point  of  the  globe.  Many  wore  the  difficulties  which  they  had  to 
overcome,  in  an  almost  desert  region,  destitute  of  communications,  furrowed  by 
tremendous  ravines,  exposed  to  frequent  earthquakes,  covered  lower  down  by 
almost  impenetrable  forests,  higher  up  by  rocks  and  snows.  Hence  the  work, 
although  steadily  prosecuted,  lasted  six  years  ;  but  it  was  of  supreme  importance, 
not  only  for  the  study  of  South  America,  but  also  for  that  of  the  whole  world,  and 
for  determining  the  exact  shape  of  the  planet. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  attesting  the  extreme  care  with  which  the  scientific 
commission  carried  out  its  labours,  that  the  positions  assigned  by  it  to  the  cities  of 
the  plateau  and  to  the  surrounding  mountains  were  far  more  correct  than  those 

•  Acufia,  ytuvo  Descubiimiento  dol  gran  Rio  da  Un  Amatoiias;  C.  R.  Markham,  Expeditiotu  into  the 
Valley  of  tkt  Amaton*,  llaHdMji^oavetj. 


'-"¥- 


'('J 


■"f^^thir^^ 


10 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS, 


Fig.  5. 


-Determination  of  the  Meuisian  op 
Quito. 
Scale  1 :  3,500,000. 


Meridian 


oF  Quito 


.Mira 


Ct/fc^cfii 


QUITQ 


Cormam, 


Latacun|a  * 


Ambato  • 


\  Gayamia 


}  .;v-;^>f 


i.y 


i^ambamarca 


i 


y 


Riobumbii,'  . 


v.- 

Alausi'" 


y. 


Zllffif/^fU* 


^Sm/^f^ 


obtained  sixty  years  afterwards  by  the  great  Humboldt  when  determining  certain 
astronomic  points  in  Ecuador,  All  the  cartographic  documents  prepared  during 
the  course  of  the  present  century  down  to  recent  years  had  taken  for  their  base 
Humboldt's  observations  of  latitude  and  longitude,  with  the  result  that  the  section 
of  the  northern  Andes  between  Bogota  and  Cuzco  was  shifted  much  too  far  west- 
wards. In  some  places,  notably  between 
Guayaquil  and  the  inland  city  of  Alausi, 
the  error  was  as  much  as  20  geogra- 
phical miles.*  Hence  all  the  lines  on 
the  map  had  to  be  altered,  so  as  to  cor- 
respond with  the  old  network  traced  by 
Bouguer  and  his  as-ociates.  On  his 
return  La  Condamine,  descending  the 
course  of  the  Amazons,  prepared  the 
first  chart  of  the  river  based  on  astro- 
nomic obs'^rvations. 

The   Spanish   Government  had  de- 
parted from    its    traditional   policy  in 
allowing    the     French    geodesians    to 
establish  themselves   in    its  American 
colonies.     Over  fifty  years  afterwards 
it  made  a  like  concession  in  favour  of 
Alexander  von  Humboldt  and  his  com- 
panion, Aime  Bonpland,  who  were  per- 
mitted to  visit  its  Transatlantic  terri- 
tories without  any  restriction.   Landing 
in  1799  at  Cumana,  the  two  travellers 
traversed    Vt;nezuela ;     placed   beyond 
doubt  the  remarkable  bifurcation  of  the 
Orinoco  already  well  known  to  the  mis- 
sionaries and  local  traders,  but  at  timcB 
questioned  by  ignorant  writers  of  the 
Old  World  ;  visited  the  Bogota  plateau, 
the  upper  Magdalena  basin,  Quito,  and 
its  lines  of  volcanoes. 

Humboldt  tried  to  scale  Chimbornzo, 
which  he  believed  to  be  pre-eminently 
the  giant  amongst  the  great  mountains 
of  the  globe ;  although  he  failed  to  reach  the  summit,  he  reached  a  higher  point 
on  its  elopes  than  any  other  previous  climber.  He  never  completed  the  descrip- 
tion of  his  five  years'  travels  in  the  "  equinoxial  regions."  NeverthelesB,  his 
studies,  embracing  all  phenomena  of  planetary  life,  as  well  as  the  discussion  of 
all  problems  associated  with  them,  became  a  veritable  guide  and  tade-mecum  for 
•  Theodor  Wolf,  rerhandlnngen  der  Oe»eU»chaft  fiir  Erdkunde  zu  Btrlin,  Nos.  9  and  10,  1891. 


ipu//i  aaAam» 


;:^xMt  ■ 


Cuenca  : 


■  Wormm 


'  ii^///ttrx/uftim 


W.or  Greenw'cW     79' 


78* 


.  60  MUeB. 


t;-mmimm--:rM^:''':WiSS^'^^^^^f^^>^^^^^^'^'^ 


"WTW 


|i>i(j<»ji>')ii 


■-■';-}.'v' 


SCIENTIFIC  EXPLORATION. 


17 


g  certain 
1  during 
heir  base 
le  section 
far  west- 
er between 
of  Alausi, 

!  lines  on 

as  to  cor- 

traced  by 

On  bis 

nding  tbe 

jpaved  tbe 

on  astro- 

jt  bad  de- 
policy  in 
desians    to 
I  American 
afterwards 
a.  favour  of 
ad  his  com- 
0  were  per- 
untic  terri- 
Landing 

0  travellers 
ed   beyond 

ationof  tbe 
to  tbe  mis- 
)ut  at  times 
liters  of  tbe 
;ota  plateau, 
,  Quito,  and 

Dbimbornzo, 
te- eminently 
lit  mountains 

tiigber  point 

1  tbe  descrip- 
rtbeless,  bis 
iiscussion  of 

Ve-mecum  for 

U,  1891. 


a  large  number  of  inquirers  who  entered  either  as  disciples  or  rivals  on  tbe  same 
career  of  scientific  exploration. 

Humboldt's  journey  was  thus  not  only  of  capital  importance  for  the  history 
of  Spanish  America,  but  it  must  also  be  considered  as  the  event  which  has  given 
the  most  powerful  impulse  to  the  comprehensive  study  of  the  great  terrestrial 
organism.  Humboldt  has  even  been  called,  though  with  some  exaggeration,  tbe 
"  founder  "  of  meteorological  geography,  of  pelagic  science,  and  of  geographic 
botany.  He  devoted  half  a  century  to  an  orderly  digest  of  tbe  materials  collected 
during  his  expedition. 

Since  this  pioneer,  legions  of  naturalists  or  men  of  leisure  have  traversed  the 
various  regions  of  South  America,  and  hundreds  of  them  have  left  their  mark  on 
the  history  of  tbe  discovery.  By  their  itineraries  they  have  modified  the  relative 
positions  of  many  places  wrongly  laid  down  on  the  maps,  and  by  their  observations 
they  have  contributed  in  various  degrees  to  a  better  knowledge  of  the  country  and 
its  inhabitants.  Thus  Von  Eschwege  and,  after  him,  Maximilian  von  Wied, 
Auguste  de  Saint-Hilaire,  and,  in  a  more  complete  and  thorough  manner,  Spix  and 
Martins  explored  in  various  directions  the  interior  of  Brazil  anJ  the  Amazonian 
lands,  some  as  geologists,  others  as  botanists  or  anthropologists. 

Fentland  sojourned  on  tbe  elevated  Bolivian  plateaux,  and  measured  the 
encircling  giants,  to  which,  however,  he  wrongly  assigned  tbe  first  rank  amongst 
the  loftiest  summits  of  America.  D'Orbigny,  Castelnau,  and  Marcoy  devoted 
themselves  especially  to  the  geography  of  tbe  central  regions  between  tbe  La 
Plata  and  Amazons  basins  ;  and  while  they  were  plodding  patiently  through  the 
forests,  heading  or  drifting  with  the  stream,  Darwin  was  making  the  famous  voyage 
roimd  the  continental  periphery  where  be  collected  the  materials  which,  combined 
with  the  observations  of  Wallace  and  Bates  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons  and 
its  affluents,  were  destined  to  help  in  definitely  establishing  the  theory  of  the 
Origin  of  Species.  It  was  through  the  exuberant  life  of  the  South  American  world, 
through  the  study  of  its  plants  and  animals,  that  Darwin,  Wallace,  and  Bates 
ushered  in  the  order  of  research  which  has  renovated  science. 

Each  of  the  several  South  American  regions  bad  its  special  explorers,  who 

contributed  to  determine  its  relief,  to  reveal  its  natural  resources,  and  throw  light 

^   on  the  character  of  its  inhabitants.'    Thus  the  island  of  Trinidad  has  been  described 

by  Wells,  Sawkins,  De  Verteuil  and  Kingsley.    Codazzi,  Myers,  Sachs,  Ernst, 

v  Sievers,  Chaffanjcn  have  distinguished  themselves  by  their  travels  in  Venezuela 

and  neighbouring  lands.  Colombia  has  been  explored  in  every  direction  by  Rauliu, 

Boussingault,  Ancizar,  Acosta,  Earsten,  Stiibel,  Reiss,  Saffray,  Andre,  Steinheil, 

,   Hettner,  and  Vergara.    Wolf,  R^my,  Whymper,  and  De  la  Espada  have  studied 

Ecuador  in  its  relief,  its  physical  features,  and  natural  history.     Peru,  one  of  tbe 

best-known  regions  of  South  America,  has  been  traversed  in  all  directions  by 

Poeppig,  Tschudi,  Rivero,   Bollaert,  Angrand,  Markham,   Wiener,  Paz  Soldan, 

Raimondi,  Simons.     The  Bolivian  tracks  have  been  followed  by  Weddell,  Orton, 

Minchin,  Reck,  Guillaume.     Domeyko,  Philippi,  Gay  initiated  the  exploration  of 

Chili,   which  has  since  been  continued  by   numerous  geologists  and  engineers. 

8 


'L: 


18 


SOUXn  AMEEICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


1 

-  M 


II'; 
ill 

•jli;, 


Ml 


Cox,  Moreno,  Musters,  Rogers,  Moyano,  Lista  have  ventured  into  the  wilds  of 
Patagonia  and  Tierra  del  Fuogo.  Martin  do  Moussy,  Burmeister,  Page,  Crevaux, 
Thuar,  Do  Brettes,  and  many  others  have  led  the  way  for  settlers,  miners,  and 
traders  in  the  Argentine  lands.  In  the  vast  Brazilian  domain  Agassiz  and  Hart 
have  ascended  the  Amazons  in  the  wake  of  numerous  predecessors.  Halfeld  has 
prepared  the  map  of  the  San  Francisco  basin  ;  Wells  has  studied  the  fluvial  valleys 
inclining  towards  Silo  Luis  de  Maranhao ;  Von  den  Steinen  has  ascended  the 
Xingu ;  Ehrenreich  has  resided  amongst  the  Carib  Indians  of  the  Amazonian 
woodlands ;  Church  has  surveyed  the  Madeira  and  its  rapids.  The  exploration  of 
the  Purus,  begun  by  Chandless,  has  been  completed  by  Labre,  who  has  connected 
tlie  various  routes  of  this  river  and  its  affluents  with  the  course  of  the  Madre  de 
Dios  and  of  the  Mamore.  Sosa's  exploration  of  the  19a  (Putumayo)  between 
Ecuador  and  Amazonia  has  been  resumed  after  a  lapse  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  by  Crevaux  and  Simson,  Lastly,  in  the  Guianas,  where  Schomburgk  had 
opened  the  way  to  the  interior,  and  where  Appun  and  Brown  had  made  important 
geological  and  natural  history  studies,  Crevaux  and  Coudreau  have  advanced  across 
the  mountains  and  descended  by  various  routes  towards  the  banks  of  the  Amazons. 
Every  year  numerous  travellers  continue  the  work  of  discovery,  and  their  steps 
are  followed  by  miners  and  railway  builders. 

Nevertheless  there  still  remain  vast  territories  in  South  America  which  have 
never  j'et  been  traversed  and  described  by  any  white  man  ;  notably  in  the  bound- 
less forest  region  of  the  Amazons  valley  there  are  compact  spaces,  20,000  square 
miles  in  extent,  which  still  await  the  explorer.  In  these  districts  the  course  of 
the  rivers  has  been  traced  at  haphazard  or  on  hea'";ay  reports.  No  part  of  the 
continent  has  been  figured  with  an  accuracy  comparable  to  that  of  the  charts  of 
West  l^urope.  Even  the  countries  which  have  made  the  greatest  progress  In  this 
respect,  the  Colombian  plateau,  Chili,  West  Peru,  the  Argentine  Ilepublio,  possess 
no  thorough  surveys.  The  best  charts  are  naturally  those  of  the  seaboard 
fcequented  by  the  mariners  of  all  nations,  and  those  of  the  agricultural  and 
mining  regions  in  the  interior,  where  the  populations  are  already  grouped  in 
numerous  towns  and  cities. 


IL 


i| 


The  triangular  mass  of  South  America  forms  two  distinct  natural  divisions, 
differing  greatly  in  their  form,  relief,  climate,  products,  inhabitants,  and  historic 
evolution.  In  the  western  section  of  the  continent  are  comprised  the  mountain 
ranges  of  varying  size  and  altitude,  and  of  comparatively  recent  origin,  which 
follow  the  coastline  of  the  Caribbean  and  Pacific  waters  between  the  two  extreme 
points  of  Trinidad  and  Staten  Island,  and  which  have  a  total  development  of  no 
less  than  5,900  miles.  The  eastern  section,  less  in  absolute  length,  but  of  far 
greater  superticial  extent,  embraces  the  vast  plains  of  the  interior,  together  with 
the  irregular  mass  of  uplands  which  skirt  the  Atlantic  as  far  south  as  the  La  Plata 
estuary,  and  which  are  of  great  geological  age.  .  ;    .       ■      '  .    , 

The  political  divisions  of  the  continent  correspond  in  a  general  way  with 


swv 


I  IMI  HJ,|N.'_Wil|il  ij.ij-l  I 


w'lii'llii'i  ri.'i*'iU  Li'  ii'ii  t  i«i  Vi  'I'niV'r'^i  ,11  »  I  ^ 


THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  BELIEF— THE  ANDES. 


19 


wilds  of 
Crevaux, 
ners,  and 
and  Hart 
vlfeld  has 
ial  valleys 
snded  the 
Lmazonian 
oration  of 
connected 
Madre  de 
)  between 
and  fifty 
aurgk  had 
t  important 
need  across 
B  Amazons, 
their  steps 

which  have 
the  bound- 
,000  square 
e  course  of 
part  of  the 
e  charts  of 

ress  in  this 
blio,  possess 
Ihe  seaboard 
|ultural  and 

grouped  in 


il  divisions, 
ind  historic 

mountain 

Irigin,  which 

two  extreme 

jment  of  no 

but  of  far 
ftfrether  with 
Ithe  La  Plata 


[al  way 


with 


these  natural  features.  Thus  the  three  republics  of  the  ancient  province  of 
Colombia  (Venezuela,  Colombia,  and  Ecuador),  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Chili,  all  belong 
to  the  western  (Andes)  section ;  while  the  Guianas,  Brazil,  and  the  Argentine 
States  form  part  of  the  eastern  section,  sloping  towards  the  Atlantic.  The  limits, 
however,  of  the  respective  physical  and  political  divisions  are  far  from  coinciding 
with  any  approach  to  accuracy.  "With  the  exception  of  Cliili,  comprised  entirely 
within  the  Pacific  slope,  all  the  Andean  states  encroach  considerably  on  the  inland 
plains.  The  whole  of  the  Orinoco  basin,  although  lying  in  the  Atlantic  area  of 
drainage,  is,  nevertheless,  comprised  within  the  two  Andean  republics  of  Venezuela 
and  Colombia.  But  these  frontiers,  laid  down  by  diplomatists,  run  for  nearly  their 
entire  length  through  regions  inhabited  only  by  the  aborigines  and  a  few  half- 
castes.     Even  in  the  eyes  of  the  geographer  their  importance  is  but  slight. 

The  Andes  Orographic  System. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  South  America,  as  compared  with  other  continents, 
is  the  remarkable  regularity  of  the  orographic  system  which  forms  its  backbone. 
From  east  Venezuela  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan  the  line  of  the  Andes  nowhere 
presents  a  single  break.  Throughout  its  vast  extent,  however,  it  ramifies  into 
two  or  more  foldings,  for  the  most  part  parallel,  and  enclosing  extensive  elevated 
and  level  tablelands.  The  system  develops  two  main  curves — the  first,  intersected 
by  the  equator,  turns  its  convex  side  towards  the  Pacific,  ftnd  projects  its 
most  advanced  point  at  the  headland  of  Punta  Parina  in  north  Peru  ;  the  second, 
sweeping  round  to  the  south-east  and  south,  has  the  centre  of  its  concave  side  at 
the  point  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Arica. 

South  of  Arica  the  system  runs  parallel  with  the  coast  nearly  in  a  straight  line 
from  north  to  south.  But  towards  the  extremity  of  the  continent  it  develops  a 
second  convex  curvature,  traced  as  if  with  the  compass,  which  is  continued  sea- 
wards by  a  submarine  ridge  connecting  Tierra  del  Fuego  with  the  archipelago  of 
South  Georgia. 

Everywhere  the  Andes  hug  the  coastline,  and  in  many  places,  as  at  Guayra, 
in  Venezuela,  the  escarpments  plunge  sheer  into  the  sea,  where  they  are  con- 
tinued, without  any  intermediate  terraces,  down  to  the  abysses  of  the  oceanic 
cavities.  No  real  plains  occur  between  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and  the  seashore, 
except  in  the  northern  provinces  of  Colombia,  where,  thanks  to  the  abundant 
rainfall,  the  eroded  rocks  have  been  transformed  to  broad  alluvial  flats.  On  the 
Pacific  side,  where  the  rainfall  is  much  lighter,  there  are  scarcely  any  plains, 
but  only  a  series  of  terraced  lands  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea.  Here  also 
the  marine  waters  deepen  rapidly,  abysses  of  1,000  fathoms  occurring  normally 
within  120  miles  of  the  coast.  Thus  the  submerged  roots  of  the  Andes  present 
an  aspect  analogous  to  that  of  the  upraised  slopes,  except  that  their  incline  is 
considerably  less  abrupt.  Evidently  the  coast  ranges  and  the  coastline  are  due 
to  the  same  cosmic  phenomenon. 

But,  however  regular  it  maybe  in  its  main  outlines,  the  Andes  orographic  system 
presents  great  difierences  in  its  several  sections,  which  vary  in  breadth  and  altitude 


("sf 


ao 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


aa  well  as  in  the  number  of  their  parallel  or  divergent  chains.  The  great  central 
plateau,  which  may  be  culled  the  heart  of  the  Andes,  is  one  of  those  where  the  ramifi- 
cations are  most  numerous  ;  but  these  ramifications  are  mere  ridges  compared  with 


Fig.  6. — Odtlinks  of  tub  Andes  aih)  of  tub  Easteiik  ITiqulanos. 

8cale  1  :  B6,000,0()0. 


^|1 


U  to  1,000  l.flOOFeet 

Feet.  and  apwarda. 

The  thicknen  of  the  black  lines  is  io  proportion  to  the  height  of  the  ranges :  ih  inch  to  3,800  f«et. 


1,210  MUes. 


the  huge  pediment  of  the  elevoted  tablelands,  which  have  a  mean  altitude  of 
from  14,000  to  16,000  feet  for  a  space  of  over  80,000  square  miles. 

From  the  Pacific  shores  eastwards  to  the  plains  watered  by  the  Amazon  and 
La  Plata  affluents,  the  uplands  of  the  Bolivian  Andes  have  a  breadth  of  from  460 


J 


|5l>|!*W;i«|.l-W»'/; 


""."'^.ifc'i''  ''T'""  '•""r-^-~".r' «.- 


•   '>i'M',iy1Hi  -I  i(  i  lim  II  fi  i  u  liih  I J  li i|>i,» li.  I  1 1 'in..  mmiljf 


eat  central 
the  ramifi- 
pared  with 


JO- 


KK)  feet. 


I  altitude  of 

Amazon  and 
of  from  460 


THE  SNOW  LINE— GLACIERS. 


21 


to  500  miles  in  a  straight  line.  In  this  highland  region  are  found,  if  not  the 
culminating  point  of  the  South  American  continent,  at  least  the  groups  of  peaks 
and  domes  which  have  the  greatest  mean  altitude.  Here  rise  Illampu  and 
lUimani,  both  of  which  exceed  21,000  feet.  These  giants  indicate  with  sufficient 
accuracy  the  central  point  of  the  Andean  system,  and  the  central  points  of  the 
northern  and  southern  sections  are  similarly  indicated  by  the  other  loftiest  sum- 
mits of  America — in  Ecuador,  Chimborazo,  long  supposed  to  be  the  highest  moun- 
tain in  the  world ;  and  in  the  Argentino-Chilian  Andes,  Aconcagua,  which  at  any 
rate  is  the  culminating  peak  of  the  New  World.  Besides  these  extreme  summits, 
dozens  of  other  crests  in  Venezuela,  in  Colombia,  and  in  all  the  other  Pacific 
states  exceed  13,000  feet,  an  altitude  far  above  the  zone  of  arborescent  vegetation. 

Snows  and  Glacirrs. 
The  snow-line  varies  with  the  latitude ;  but,  as  Whymper  asks,  what  is  this 
line  P  Certain  completely  isolated  mountains  of  the  Ecuadorian  Andes  have  no 
permanent  snows  at  16,500  feet ;  others,  more  exposed  to  the  moist  winds  and  less 
subject  to  rapid  evaporation,  remain  white  throughout  the  year  at  an  altitude 
exceeding  14,450  feet.  Speaking  broadly,  the  snows  descend  lower  and  are  more 
abundant  in  the  eastern  highlands  facing  the  trade  winds  than  on  the  western 
ranges ;  for  each  summit  also  the  rule  holds  good,  the  eastern  being  more  snowy 
than  the  western  slope,* 

In  the  equatorial  Andes  from  the  Nevada  de  Santa  Marta  to  the  Bolivian 
uplands  the  limit  of  perpetual  snows  may,  in  a  general  way,  be  said  to  oscillate 
between  14,750  and  16,400  feet.  By  a  remarkable  contrast,  the  explanation  of 
which  must  be  sought  in  the  varying  proportions  of  moisture  brought  by  the  pre- 
vailing winds,  the  snows  descend  as  a  rule  considerably  lower  on  the  domes  and 
cones  of  Ecuador,  that  is,  on  the  equinoxial  line  itself,  than  on  the  Bolivian  and 
Argentine  mountains,  under  the  southern  tropical  line,  or  even  within  the  tem- 
perate zone.  The  Sierra  de  Zenta,  which  rises  to  16,400  feet  under  the  tropic 
of  Capricorn,  is  never  snow-clad  in  summer,  and  rarely  in  winter. 

In  the  Bolivian  Andes  Pentland  tells  us  that  no  perennial  snows  are  met  on 
the  western  slopes  lower  than  18,370  feet.  The  flukes  are  evaporated  as  fast  as 
they  fall  without  passing  to  the  liquid  state  to  form  running  waters.  The  vapoury 
cloudlets  that  are  seen  during  the  heat  of  the  day  rising  above  the  summit  of 
the  mountains  are  the  snows  returning  in  this  form  to  the  atmosphere.t  But 
south  of  this  S5one  of  dry  winds  the  line  of  persistent  snows  is  rapidly  lowered  by 
the  abundant  moisture  precipitated  by  the  clouds.  In  the  Magellanic  archi- 
pelago and  in  Tierra  del  Fuego  the  lower  limit  stands  at  about  4,900  feet. 

Glaciers  have  been  seen  in  all  the  Cordilleras  in  the  tropics  exceeding  13,000 
feet,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  Nevada  de  Santa  Marta,  the  Sierra  de  Cocui  and  the 
Mesa  de  Herveo,  in  Colombia.  Humboldt  having  seen  none  in  the  Ecuadorian 
Andes,  either  because  of  the  foul  weather  or  because  they  were  covered  in  some 

•  Edward  Whymper,  Traveli  amotigit  the  Great  Andes  of  the  Equator. 
t  Martin  dfi  Monasy,  Oonfidiratim  Argentint. 


Id'i.l 


22 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEOIONS. 


places  by  sliinglo,  in  others  by  fresh-fuUcn  snow,  denied  their  existence  in  these 
tropical  Alpine  regions.  But  he  was  mistaken,  as  the  observations  of  Whymper 
have  clearly  shown.  Certain  great  igneous  cones  in  the  Quito  district  have  their 
circular  snowficlds  fringed  with  as  many  m  fifteen  glaciers,  scored  by  crevasses, 
furnished  with  lateral  and  frontal  moraines  like  those  of  the  European  Alps. 

In  the  Bolivian  Andes,  Illimani  has  also  its  frozen  rivers,  and  in  Chili  the 
nlpid  lowering  of  the  snow-lines  corresponds  with  the  appearance  of  numerous 
glaciers.  South  of  the  IJoth  parallel  every  upland  coomb  receives  its  crystal 
stream  descending  lower  and  lower  towards  sea-level.  In  the  inner  channels  of 
the  Magellanic  archipelago,  a  glacier  may  be  seen  issuing  from  every  valley  on 
the  mainland.  Towards  the  southernmost  point  of  the  continent  the  crystalline 
masses  at  last  reach  the  seashore,  where  they  break  away  in  small  blocks  which 
arc  borne  northwards  by  the  marine  current. 


Volcanoes. 

The  Andes  belong  to  those  orographic  systems  in  which  numerous  volcanoes 
have  cropi)cd  out  through  rocks  of  a  different  formation.  Nevertheless,  the  sub- 
terranean fires  have  not  found  "safety  valves"  along  the  entire  length  of  the 
chain  between  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  On  the  mainland 
the  craters  are  grouped  in  three  great  clusters,  those  of  Colombia  and  Ecuador  in 
the  north,  of  Bolivia  in  the  centre,  and  of  southern  Chili  in  the  south.  At  least 
sixty  still  active  cones  rise  above  the  Andean  axis,  and  hundreds  of  others  now 
quiescent  formerly  shared  in  the  work  of  eruption**^ 

The  line  of  igneous  crests  is  even  continued  beyond  the  Fuegian  archipelago, 
away  to  the  Antarctic  lands,  where  navigators  have  seen  the  clouds  aglow  with  the 
flumes  issuing  from  burning  mountains.  West  of  the  South  American  coast,  and 
under  the  same  latitude  as  the  volcanoes  of  Ecuador,  the  Galapagos  Islands  form 
a  short  chain  surging,  as  it  were,  above  abysmal  waters  some  1,500  fathoms  deep. 

But  east  of  the  Andes  along  the  prolonged  axis  of  the  Antilles,  the  South 
American  continent  has  not  a  single  eruptive  cone.  Here  the  igneous  distur- 
bances appear  to  be  arrested  at  Trinidad  and  the  opposite  coast  of  Venezuela, 
where  the  oil  wells  and  mud  volcanoes  may  perhaps  stand  in  some  relation  with 
the  underground  forces. 

In  this  respect  the  contrast  is  certainly  very  marked  between  the  two  sections 
of  the  continent,  the  Andean  region  and  that  of  the  Guianas  and  Brazil.  In  the 
former  the  planetary  life  manifests  itself  with  the  greater  energy,  and  this  section 
is  also  the  younger  of  the  two.  Formed  in  more  recent  geological  epochs,  it  has 
not  yet  completed  its  upward  movement.  The  several  ranges,  however,  appear  to 
have  been  upheaved  in  an  extremely  irregular  manner,  and  some  of  the  loftiest 
crests  are  amongst  those  whose  origin  dates  from  comparatively  modern  ages. 

The  Eastern  Orographic  System. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  Andine  crests  rose  above  the  ocean  during  geological 
periods  later  than  those  that  witnessed  the  birth  of  the  eastern  uplands  in  the 


in  tlit'Ho 
Vhympor 
avo  ihoir 
jrevasses, 

Ips. 

Chili  the 
aumorous 
ts  crystal 
annela  of 
vulley  on 
rystalline 
ks  which 


volcanoes 
the  sub- 
th  of  the 
mainland 
cuudor  in 
At  least 
thers  now 


jhipelago, 
'  with  the 
coast,  and 
mds  form 
)ras  deep, 
the  South 
lus  distur- 
^enezuela, 
ition  with 

0  sections 
In  the 
bis  section 
;hs,  it  has 
appear  to 
he  loftiest 
ages. 


THE  BRAZIL  AND  GUIANA  UPLANDS. 

Guianas  and  Hrazil.     These  con.int  vhivtty  of  nystaliine  a.ul  ar.-haic  nu-kH,  sand- 

stones,  ami  schistH,  which  are  overlain  to  a  vast  extent  by  meso/oic  unci,  ospt-ciully, 

FiK.  7.-AN..K8  ScENKBT.     V.Kw  r.KK»  AT  T„K  ( ■.,M,n,-„An.  H„„k,k.   T„ha- U  Okova   RAMwn- 


24 


SOUTH  AMKHICA-TIIE  ANDES  EEOIONS. 


W 


'■i:  I 


Mb 


i|i! 


88  in  the  alfcitu  le,  general  trend,  and  rolativo  position,  the  Brazilian  Hfrras  rosomblo 
the  AII(!ghunioH,  while  tho  Andes  corrcHpuud  to  the  Rouky  Mountuina,  of  which 
they  were  formerly  rogurdcd  an  tho  southeru  continuation. 

Curvi'd  into  a  numbor  of  fragments  by  tlio  great  streams  doscondiiig  from 
tho  eastorn  slope  of  the  Andes,  the  uplands  facing  tho  Atlantic  present  no  contin- 
uity in  tho  direction  from  north  to  south  ;  in  some  districts  they  are  even  distri- 
buted without  any  apparent  order.  Thus  the  hilly  I'urima  region,  where  so  many 
gold-huntora  hoped  ut  one  time  to  find  the  city  of  1*11  Dorado  with  all  its  fabulous 
treasures,  develops  its  main  axis  in  the  direction  from  the  north-west  to  the 
south-east.  The  other  Guiuna  ranges  also  follow,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  same 
direction,  as  indicated  in  the  intermediate  valleys  watered  by  the  affluents  of  the 
Orinoco. 

South  of  the  Amazons  several  chiiins  of  low  elevation  have  tho  same  trend, 
running  parallel  with  the  coast  between  the  Amazons  estuary  and  Cape  H&o 
Itoque.  But  west  of  the  Parnahyba  and  thence  to  the  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  the 
ranges  are  disposed  mainly  north-cast  and  south-west,  in  tlie  same  direction  as  the 
seaboard.  The  more  elevated  and  precipitous  ranges  are  almost  completely  sepa- 
rated from  the  inland  plateaux  by  tho  two  valleys  of  the  Silo  Francisco  and 
Parana,  which  are  inclined  in  opposite  directions,  and  which  communicifL'>  across 
a  low  parting-line  about  the  region  of  their  sources.  This  double  valley,  vv'iich  in 
reality  forms  oaly  a  single  depression,  is  also  roughly  parallel  with  the  Brazilian 
coast,  whose  sinuosities  it  follows  at  u  mean  distance  of  300  miles,  and  for  a  total 
lengih  of  over  1,250  miles. 

The  loftiest  summits  of  the  Brazilian  uplands  lie  under  the  same  latitude  as 
that  part  of  the  Andes  where  is  situated,  if  not  the  culminating  point,  at  least  the 
most  imposing  group  of  the  whole  system.  Like  the  Andes  also,  whose  precipitous 
slopes  face  the  Pacific,  the  Brazilian  highlands,  and  especia*-/  the  Serra  do  Mar, 
turn  their  steep  escarpments  towards  the  deep  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 

Upheaval  and  Subsidence. 

The  eastern  and  western  seaboards  differ,  to  a  marked  extent,  in  the  changes  of 
level  that  have  taken  place  along  their  respective  coastlines.  Indications  of  au 
upheaval  of  the  land,  or  else  of  a  subsidence  of  the  sea,  are  much  more  numerous, 
and  give  evidence  of  far  more  extensive  oscillations  on  the  Pacific  than  on  the 
Atlantic  side.  In  fact,  the  opposite  movement  has  been  at  work  along  the 
east  coast,  where  the  encroachments  of  the  ocean,  either  by  actual  upheaval  or 
by  a  sinking  of  the  land,  are  still  going  on  to  an  extent  which  is  probably 
unequalled  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

On  the  shores  of  Chili  and  of  the  adjacent  island  of  Chiloe,  as  was  already 
observed  by  Pccppig  over  fifty  years  ago,  there  are  everywhere  visible  old  marine 
beaches  of  perfectly  regular  formation,  and  ill  covered  with  shells  belonging  to 
species  of  the  present  epoch.  The  studies  of  Darwin,  Philippi,  and  Domeyko  leave 
no  doubt  on  this  point.  At  the  issue  of  all  the  valleys  where  occur  lateral  terraces, 
the  remains  of  an  ancient  plain  eroded  by  the  running  waters,  the  distinction  has 


Ill  iiiBiimimumpiimi  Ml 


OSCILLATIONS  OF  THE  SI&AI 


iV. 


•26 


•osomblo 
)f  which 

II  g  from 
0  contin- 
n  distri- 
8o  many 
fabulous 
at  to  the 
the  same 
its  of  the 

no  trend, 
Hape  Sio 
3  Sul,  the 
ion  an  the 
tely  sepa- 
cisco  and 
ut'>  across 
vliich  in 
Brazilian 
}r  a  total 


titude  as 
least  the 

recipitous 
do  Mar, 


jhanges  of 
ons  of  an 
[luraerous, 
in  on  the 
ilong  the 
)heaval  or 
probably 

18  already 
)ld  marine 
onging  to 
eyko  leave 
,1  terraces, 
nction  has 


been  cU'iirly  estublished  between  the  two  typos  of  tt'rru>    h.  wl  .cfa  otli'  'v\m  sonie- 
whttt  closoly  resemble  each  other  in  thoir  giuorul  ttsfiect 

Tn  many  places  the  beaches  left  high  und  dry  by  I:  rotreatiuj;  vater*  or  hy 
the  upraised  coast  take  the  fonu  of  flights  of  stepe,  the  highest  of  wiuch  ••'  »• 
over  1,0(10  feet  above  the  present  sea-level.  Under  the  tropic  of  Cupricon  ue 
mountain  range  projecting  beyond  the  normal  shore-line,  between  the  b«  of 
Mejillones  and  Antofugastu,  has  been  subjected  to  a  still  more  violent  tliniMt  A' 
u  height  of  1,-100  feet  on  the  slopes  of  the  Cerro  (Jordo  are  seen  sbell-mouuds 

Fig.  8.— Reqion  op  Ooxakio  ENcnoAcnicENTS  about  tuk  Amajcunr  Edtuabt. 

Bral*  1  :  11,4(1(1,000. 


Ilepths 


0  to  100 
Fathomi. 


ino  to  r.ooo 
Faihomi. 


I,n«i0  tn  2,000 
FRthoma. 

12fi  MilM. 


S.OOn  Fstliom* 
and  upwonli. 


consisting  of  quite  contemporary  species,  but  in  certain  places  associated  with  a 
cardium  which  is  now  found  no  longer  in  the  Pacific,  but  only  on  the  coasts  of 
Africa.  This  extraordinory  fact  sho,ws  that  at  the  epoch  when  the. Cerro  Gordo 
was  submerged  the  distinctive  Atlantic  fauna  was  still  represented  on  the  Boli- 
vian seaboard,  thanks  to  one  or  more  now  obliterated  marine  channels.* 

The  depressions  noticed  on  the  Brazilian  coasts  extend  over  a  vast  space,  com- 
prising the  entire  margin  of  the  Amazons  estuary,  and  reaching  eastwards  as  fur  as 
the  Itapicuru  and  the  Parnahyba.     No  other  river  brings  down  an  equal  quantity 

*  B.  A.  Fhilippi,  Lie  ttrtiaren  und  quarlaren  Verateinerungen  C/iile't. 


26 


SOUTH  AMKIlirA    THE  ANUKH  UEOIONS. 


of  iilliiviiil  mutter,  which  roprcHontH  at  thu  lowest  eHtitnate  a  Holid  inana  40  a<iuure 
tniloH  iu  Hii|)ui-ficiul  area,  with  u  thicknuHS  of  ovur  •')()  feet.  The  MiMMiHMippi,  which 
(liNchur^f's  four  or  five  timoH  Iohh  mud  uiul  wutor,  hiis  novcrtholfHM  built  up  in  thti 
open  sou  ill!  alluvial  delta  terminating  in  a  HyHtom  of  mouths  sproud  out  in  the 
nuiririo  wat(<rH  liko  a  hranchiu)^  nuiNH  of  coral. 

At  the  mouth  of  tiio  Amazons  thu  Atlantic  has,  on  the  contrary,  opened  a 
upaciouH  fi;ulf,  and  from  century  to  centiry  peuetrates  farther  into  thu  interior  of 
the  fluvial  valley.  The  sediment  washed  down  with  the  stream  is  not  de[>08itod 
in  the  gulf,  which  would  else  he  rapidly  iillud  up  ;  but  it  is  carried  away  by  the 
murine  current  crossing  the  Atlantic  from  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  to  the  West  Ind.es, 
and  thus  gets  lost  in  thu  depths  of  the  sea,  or  else  is  dislributud  along  the  blimy 
margin  of  the  Guiana  Neuboard. 

The  work  of  erosion,  aided  doubtless  by  a  general  subtiidenco  of  the  marine 
bed,  progresses  at  such  a  rapid  rate  that  observers  have  been  able  to  record 
many  indications  of  its  action  during  the  brief  period  of  the  last  half-century. 
The  shores  retreat,  so  to  say,  and  become  indented  by  new  inlets,  while  the  shallow 
ramifying  creeks  are  transformed  to  deep  channels;  the  islands  and  islets  slowly 
melt  away  until  they  disappear  altogether  ;  lighthouses  erected  at  some  distance 
from  the  shore  have  had  to  bo  replaced  by  others  built  still  farther  inland.  Owing 
to  this  incessant  encroachment  of  the  sea  on  the  mainland,  the  Amazonn  is  esti- 
mated to  have  lost  from  400  to  oOO  miles  of  its  former  length,  and  the  ohl  beach 
would  now  appear  to  be  indicated  by  the  lOO-fathoms  lino. 

The  Parnahyba,  the  Itapicuru  and  the  Tury-assu,  former  affluents  of  the  main- 
stream, now  reach  the  sea  in  independent  channels ;  the  Tocantins,  also,  which  at 
one  time  flowed  to  the  Amazons,  is  now  connected  with  it  only  by  a  network  of 
lateral  branches,  which  shift  their  beds  with  the  periodicnl  floods  of  the  tributary 
streams.  Thus  the  invasions  of  the  ocean  are  decomposing  the  great  fluvial  basin 
into  secondary  systems.  Owing  to  these  different  oscillations  of  ^.he  seaboard — 
subaidence  on  the  Atlantic,  upheaval  on  the  Pacific  side — the  whole  continent  may 
in  a  sense  bo  said  to  have  boon  displaced  westwards :  it  has  moved  farther  from 
Europe  and  nearer  to  Australia. 


III. 

The  very  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  continental  relief  arc,  no  less  than  the 
vegetation  itself,  to  a  large  extent  the  result  of  the  climate,  as  determined  by  the 
prevailing  winds,  by  the  rainfall  and  the  running  waters  fed  by  it.  Thus  the 
Orinoco  has  cut  itself  a  passage  through  the  northern  coast  range  and  the  Guiana 
mountains.  In  the  same  way  the  Amazons  has  swept  away  the  obstructions  to  its 
course,  dividing  into  two  sections  the  whole  system  of  the  eastern  uplands.  In 
the  central  parts  of  the  continent,  also,  the  waters,  diverging  in  two  opposite 
directions,  have  removed  all  the  transverse  ridges  formerly  connecting  the  Cor- 
dilleras with  the  Rrazilian  highlands. 

To  the  effects  of  the  climate  must  also  be  attributed  the  gradual  contraction 
and  lowering  of  the  Cordilleras  themselves  in  that  part  of  the  system  exposed  to 


CMMATK  OF  HOUTII  AMEBICA. 


27 


t)i(>  ftction  of  tlMi  iiltornatir.g  north  cunt  mid  Hoiith-cuMt  trado  wIikIh,  Ixitli  chiirfjtd 
will)  itltiiiiilunt  tnoiHtitrc,  hy  which  thu  rovUn  hiivo  hcoii  ruvincd  und  thi-ir  dutiituH 
HWi'pt  iiwiiy.  Th«  hitoral  rid)(«'H  formorly  diHjMmcd  jmnilh-l  with  tho  main  runp;o 
huvu  dinappourod  ;  tho  gutdngical  Htruta,  whoxo  dobriH  uro  Ntill  Mcen  iiortli  and  Hoiith 
of  tho  br»'i«ch,  have  heon  doMtroyt'd  atid  rophicod  hy  drift  of  more  recent  orijjfiii, 
h»'ro  and  tlicro  hoapcd  up  around  iHoIafe<l  knollH  of  tho  piiniitiv((  foinialionH. 
Hhould  the  work  of  erosion  continue,  the  time  may  he  forcNoeii  when  llif  Cordil- 
U'riis  \s  ill  ho  completely  pierced,  when  the  Aniuzoiiian  pluiliH  will  he  Hejmrated  only 
by  a  Mill  of  low  elevation  from  tho  (lulf  of  Ouayatpiil. 

Jiut  vhilo  the  AndoH  have  in  this  region  boon  reduced  to  a  narrow  Ht«'m  hy 
the  destructive  action  of  the  rains,  in  liolivia  they  have,  on  the  contrary,  been 
nwiintained  in  their  full  amplitude,  thanks  to  tho  shifting  winds,  which  are  hero 
deflected  some  to  tho  north,  some  to  the  south,  so  that  hut  littlo  rain  or  f'iw  falls 
along  their  normal  track.  Farther  south  u  fresh  contrast  corresponds  with  a  fresh 
change  in  tho  course  of  the  aerial  currents.  Here  tho  system  is  reduced  to  a 
single  range  flanked  ut  most  with  a  few  small  parallel  ridges  ;  it  is  i.itersectod 
by  deep  gorges  und  passes  cut  through  the  heart  of  the  rocks,  and  is  at  last  entirely 
broken  by  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  Water  was  tho  agent  by  which  the  highlands 
have  thus  been  carved,  hollowed  out,  and  in  places  quite  eaten  away  by  the  copious 
rains  accompanying  the  oceanic  winds. 

At  a  former  time,  when  the  coast  valleys  were  f-till  filled  with  ice.  glaciers  also 
contributed  to  modify  tho  seaboard  by  preventing  tho  deposit  of  alluvial  matter, 
und  carrying  seawards  tho  detritus  of  uU  kinds. 

Cmmatk. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  tho  South  American  continent  enjoys  a  far  more  moderate 
climate  than  the  division  of  the  globe  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Its 
superiority  in  this  respect  must  be  attributed  to  tho  difference  in  the  form  of  the 
two  continental  masses.  South  America  being  much  narrower,  the  moderating 
influence  of  the  surrounding  marine  waters  is  more  easily  felt  fur  inland.  More- 
over, the  western  continent  is  largely  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  trade  winds 
which  sweep  up  the  broad  valleys  of  the  Orinoco  and  Amazons.  In  Africa,  on  the 
contrary,  the  most  elevated  coast  ranges  are  disposed  ;.\long  the  shores  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  and  thus  intercept  tho  winds  blo^ving  from  the  rainy  quarter.  The 
northern  section  of  this  continent  also  lies  to  leeward  of  the  huge  mass  of  lands 
form^  by  Europe  and  the  whole  of  Asia.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  north-east  polar 
winds  parsing  over  Turkestan,  Persia,  and  Syria  arrive  almost  completely  deprived 
of  moisture,  and  under  their  dry  breath  the  summer  heats  become  oppressive. 

In  South  America  the  line  of  greatest  heat,  which  nearly  coincides  with  tho 
seaboard  between  the  Gulf  of  Uraba  and  Cape  Sfto  Eoque,  scarcely  represents  an 
average  of  more  than  80°  or  82°  Fahr.,  whereas  in  Africa  the  corresponding 
isothermal  traverses  a  zone  where  the  normal  temperature  exceeds  86°  Fahr.,  and 
where  the  heat  is  tempered  by  no  sea  breezes,  as  it  is  on  the  Colombian  and 
Venezuelan  coastlands. 


H4 


"S^'&y^:' 


'    ■■ 


28 


SOUTH  AMErvICA— THE  ANDES  EEGIONa 


On  the  other  hand,  the  southern  section  of  South  America  may  be  regarded  as 
lying  within  a  cold  zone,  where  the  thermometer  falls  to  41°  or  even  39°  Fahr. 
on  the  plains,  standing  at  a  slight  elevation  above  sea-level.  On  the  coast  ranges 
the  temperature,  falling  with  the  altitude,  soon  reaches  freezing  point.       In  this 


30" 


Fig.  9. — Main  Geolooical  Divisions  op  South  America. 

Scale  1  ;  66,000,000. 


100" 


West    or    Greenwich 


go- 


Crystalline,  vnlnanfo, 
and  paleozoic  rocIcH. 


fnrmnticn. 


Becent 
funnatioua. 


30' 


.  1,«0  Miles, 


KjM 


southern  region  the  natural  limit  between  the  temperate  and  frigid  zones  is  clearly 
indicated  on  the  west  side  by  the  fjords  indenting  the  Chilian  seaboard.  The 
sudden  break  in  the  uniformity  of  the  coastline  occurs  a  little  north  of  42°  south 
latitude,  at  the  Chacao  passage  separating  the  island  of  Chiloe  from  the  mainland. 


1?^"; 


•JtS^t: 


•t^ 


|)ni»iw;  m. 


\'  ■,[W.MTJ|.i<i:-y.iiM,ili'i,ijr''  ii^ni.Kn.'li'Mij  . 


CLIMATE  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA.  29 

In  the  northern  hemisphere  the  zone  of  fjords,  representing  the  work  of  ancient 
glaciers,  is  shifted  nearly  430  miles  farther  from  the  equator,  that  is,  to  48°  north 
latitude,  where  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca  gives  access  to  the  great  fjord  known 

Fig.  10.— Ibothkkmai,  Lines  op  South  Ajckbica. 
Boale  1  :  65,ono,ooo. 


Under  sa-F.    i»>to60».      t(f  to  W.       60^0  66".      66^  to  7r.       77»to86°.     86"  and  upwards. 
— — — ^— — — .^—  1,240  Mile». 

as  Puget  Sound.  Thus  South  America,  although  its  terminal  point  falls  short  of 
56°  south  latitude,  lies  none  the  less,  to  some  extent,  well  within  the  glacial  zone. 
Another  factor  contributing  not  a  little  to  the  cooUng  of  the  South  American 
continent  is  the  marine  current  which  sets  from  the  Antarctic  regions  straight 
for  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  which  continues  its  northerly  course  along  the  west 


80 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEGIONS. 


coast  of  the  raiiinland.  In  this  respect  the  northern  division  of  the  New  World 
is  privileged.  Under  the  latitudes  of  California  and  Oregon,  which  correspond 
to  the  Chilian  and  Magellanic  archipelagoes,  the  seabof-d  is  washed,  not  by  a  cold 

Fig.  11. — DisTBinuTiON  of  Rainfall  in  South  Aubrioa. 

Scale  1  :  66,000,(100. 


Under  8  Inches, 


80  Inches 
and  upwards. 


1,240  Miles. 


current,  but  by  the  relatively  tepid  waters  setting  across  the  Pacific  eastwards  from 
the  China  and  Japan  seas. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  numerous  geological  phenomena  that,  at  a  more  or 
less  remote  epoch,  the  climate  of  the  Andes  was  far  more  humid  than  at  present. 


iiw'»||Vii»l,       ''**iiii  j^i'u  ^tt^tt>itl,^m 


CLIMATE  OF  SOUTH  AMEBICA. 


81 


Old  lacustrine  basins,  dry  watercourses,  and  other  indications  of  extremely  ener- 
getic water  action  occur  {  ocisely  on  the  western  slopes  where  the  work  at  present 
accomplished  by  the  moisture,  under  the  form  of  dews  and  rare  showers,  is  insigni- 
ficant compared  with  that  produced  by  the  changes  of  temperature.  Noteworthy 
especially  are  the  deep  quebradas,  or  narrow  gorges,  excavated  to  depths  of  from 
300  to  600  feet  in  the  escarpments  of  the  Peruvian  plateaux.  One  asks  in 
amazement,  what  downpours  could  have  scored  such  tremendous  furrows  in  the 
live  rock  ?  They  are  certainly  not  the  work  of  the  few  showers  which  fall  every 
thirty  or  forty  years,  as  if  by  a  miracle,  in  this  now  almost  rainless  region. 

The  hypothesis  of  a  formerly  moist  climate  is  confirmed  by  the  facts  drawn 
from  the  domain  of  natural  history.  Various  plants  flourishing  on  the  Ecuador 
and  north  Peruvian  uplands  reappear  in  South  Chili,  but  are  completely  absent 
from  the  intervening  arid  Bolivian  tablelands.  So  also  with  certain  species  of 
animals,  such  as  the  Oervua  ant.isensis  of  the  Peruvian  Andes,  which  has  been 
described  by  D'Orbigny  and  Tschudi,  and  which  appears  to  be  identical  with  the 
guermul  or  Cerviis  chilenais  of  the  southern  Andes  and  Magellanic  lands.  It  occurs 
nowhere  in  North  Chili,  and  the  question  arises,  how  has  its  range  been  severed 
in  two  ?  How  does  it  happen  that  the  panie  plants  also  occupy  two  distinct 
domains,  one  cold,  the  other  hot,  while  avoiding  the  intermediate  temperate  zone  P 
The  explanation  is  that  rain  and  atmospheric  moisture  are  a  necessary  element  in 
the  evolution  of  these  organisms.  So  long  as  the  Andean  plateaux  were  suffi- 
ciently watered,  plants  and  animals  roamed  freely  over  the  region  at  present 
occupied  by  the  Atacama  desert  and  neighbouring  heights.  But  when  the  rains 
failed,  a  solution  of  continuity  was  effected  between  the  northern  and  southern 
biological  areas.  In  the  heart  of  the  Atacama  desert,  where  nothing  now  sprouts 
except  a  few  almost  leafless  stalks,  the  miner's  pick  often  turns  up  the  roots  of  large 
trees  which  formerly  grew  in  forests  on  the  now  arid  steppe.* 

To  the  increasing  dryness  of  the  climate  is  also  due  the  fact  that  the  great 
Bolivian  lake,  Titicaca,  has  ceased  to  form  part  of  the  Amazons  system.  Formerly 
it  sent  its  overflow  to  the  Beni  afiluent,  but  it  is  no  longer  able  to  cross  the 
parting  line,  and  the  slowly  subsiding  waters  have  left  vast  spaces  unflooded. 
What  remains  of  the  old  inland  sea  is  nearly  fresh,  doubtless  because  the  isolation 
of  the  lacustrine  basin  dates  from  a  comparatively  recent  geographical  epoch. 


Floka. 

In  the  relative  extent  of  its  area  under  timber  South  America  is  surpassed  by 
the  Eastern  Archipelago  alone.  Even  Central  Africa  with  its  prodigious  seas  of 
verdure,  which  the  Stanley  expedition  up  the  Aruwimi  hud  so  much  difficulty  in 
traversing,  presents  no  such  extensive  space  under  continuous  arboreal  vegetation 
as  the  boundless  woodlands  of  the  Amazons  basin  and  its  affluents.  These  wood- 
lands comprise  also  the  whole  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  and  are  continued  north- 
westwards by  those  of  the  Magdalena  and  Atrato  valleys  in  Colombia. 
;  -  ■  With  the  exception  of  the  interruptions  caused  by  rocks,  lakes,  swamps,  and 

•  rhilippi ;  H  W.  Bates,  Slmfotd'i  South  America. 


82 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEQIONS. 


rivers,  the  forest  presents  an  unbroken  surface  in  which  human  labour  has 
hitherto  made  but  a  few  isolated  clearings.  They  are  scarcely  even  traversed  by 
any  beaten  tracks,  except  those  made  by  the  puma,  tapir  and  peccary.  Like  the 
ocean,  like  the  snowfields  of  the  polar  regions,  the  verdant  seas  covering  tropical 
America  seem  to  constitute  a  world  apart,  presenting  an  endless  diversity  of 
species,  but  of  remarkable  uniformity  in  its  general  aspect.  The  trees  interlace 
their  branches  ;  trunks  and  foliage  are  bound  together  by  the  coils  of  the  lianas, 
until  the  whole  forms  an  inextricable  tangle  of  vegetation,  vibrating  in  long 
undulations  with  every  breath  of  wind. 

These  continuous  woodlands,  which  branch  off  southwards  up  the  valleys  of 
the  Amazons  affluents,  are  continued  across  the  inland  plateaux  of  Brazil  by  a 
less  densely  timbered  region,  in  which  the  trees  stand  out  with  more  distinct 
individuality,  but  which  none  the  less  constitutes  an  immense  expanse  of 
true  forest,  the  Matto  Grosso,  or  "  Great  Wood,"  as  it  is  called  by  the 
Brazilians. 

Still  farther  south  follow  the  catingas  and  the  campos,  or  "  fields,"  that  is, 
open  spaces  dotted  over  with  araucaria  thickets.  These  are  succeeded  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  La  Plata  basin  by  treeless  plains,  producing  little  but  low 
plants,  such  as  grasses  and  thistles.  Here  the  arborescent  vegetation  is  repre- 
sented only  by  a  few  isolated  trees,  visible  far  and  wide  on  the  boundless  plain. 
Such  are  the  pampas,  corresponding  to  the  llanos  north  of  the  equator,  that  is, 
the  open  Venezuelan  plains,  everywhere  encircled  by  the  tropical  forest  zone. 
Less  extensive  than  the  pampas,  the  llanos  are  also  less  destitute  of  trees  ;  in 
many  places  the  heights,  or  even  the  simple  rising  grounds,  are  crowned  with 
thickets  or  clumps  of  trees,  resembling  at  a  distance  green  islets  in  a  shoreless 
sea.     Here  also  the  streams  are  lined  with  a  fringe  of  leafy  vegetation. 

All  these  transitions  from  dense  forests  to  more  open  woodlands,  from  groves 
and  thickets  to  treeless  savannas,  correspond  with  the  varying  proportion  of  rain- 
fall. The  regions  clothed  by  the  Amazonian  forests  receive  copious  downpours 
nearly  throughout  the  year,  the  dry  season,  as  it  is  called,  lasting  less  than 
three  months.  The  absence  of  forest  growths,  as  in  the  llanos,  and  in  the 
districts  of  Guiana  sheltered  from  the  east  winds  by  coast  ranges,  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  a  screen  hi  mountains,  by  which  the  rain-bearing  clouds  are  inter- 
cepted. 

In  Matto  Grosso  and  the  neighbouring  provinces,  where  the  dry  season  lasts 
more  than  three  months,  the  moisture  is  insufRcient  to'nourish  an  exuberant 
vegetation  such  as  that  of  the  Amazonian  woodlands.  It  diminishes  in  the 
region  of  the  Brazilian  campos,  and  still  more  in  the  pampas  of  Argentina. 
Lastly,  the  few  deserts  of  South  America,  also  called  "pampas,"  the  sands  of 
Tumbes  and  of  Sechura  in  north  Peru,  the  Pampa  de  Tamarugal,  the  Atacaraa 
desert  in  the  territories  recently  annexed  to  Chili,  all  owe  their  lack  of  vegeta- 
tion to  the  almost  total  absence  of  rain. 

The  southern  extremity  of  the  continent  is  too  far  removed  from  the  Ant- 
arctic  Pole   for  the    temperature   to  destroy  the  forest  vegetation.       But   the 


virwiij.,y'ivBii>ifw,w!j.|,i4r.'j,j;:'iiM»:i 


FLORA  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


88 


eame  effect  is  produced  by  the  altitude  of  the  mountains.  Numerous  summits, 
and,  in  fact,  all  the  Cordilleras  taken  as  a  whole,  rise  in  the  cold  atmospheric 
regions  above  the  forest  zone.     As  a  rule,  the  upper  limit  of  this  zone  lies  at 

Fig.  12.— DanDK's  Main  Botanioax  Diyisio.vs  of  South  America. 

Scale  1  :  67,000,000. 


Tropical  Zone. 


Temperate  Zone. 


Sonthern  Cold  Zone. ' 


6  7 

1,240  Mile». 


about  3,000  feet  below  the  snow-line.  Under  the  equator  and  in  Bolivia  forests 
still  reach  an  elevation  of  11,500  feet  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountains.  But 
above  them  plants  of  low  growth  range  right  up  to  the  edge  of  the  snows,  and 
even  higher  in  those  spaces  where  the  snows  have  been  cleared  by  the  winds 

4, 


m\::i 


■■■■ 


34 


80UTU  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEOIONS. 


.1.3  51 


or  the  solar  boat.  Boussinpfault  found  a  suxifrugo  growing  at  a  height  of 
15,770  feet  on  Chiniborazo,  while  mosses  and  li<;heu8  have  been  gathered  on  the 
same  mountain  at  altitudes  of  10,500,  17,000,  and  even  17,;350  feet. 

On  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  and  along  the  main  ranges  the  different 
floras  follow  in  succession  one  above  the  other — at  their  base  tropical  plants, 
higher  up  those  of  the  temperate  zone,  and  towards  the  summits  an  ulpine  or 
glacial  vegetation.  Thus  the  Andes  and  the  other  South  American  highlands 
contribute  by  their  superimposed  climates  to  the  great  variety  of  species 
characteristic  of  this  continent.  In  Europe,  where  most  of  the  ranges  are 
disposed  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west,  the  vaiiors  vegetable  forms  spread 
freely  in  the  same  direction  from  one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other.  But  not 
so  in  South  America,  where  the  plants  of  the  east  are  abruptly  arrested  by  the 
barrier  of  the  Cordilleras,  while  on  the  opposite  side,  even  under  the  same  lati- 
tude, other  forms  have  been  developed,  analogous,  but  still  distinct  enough  to 
constitute  an  independent  flora. 

Lastly,  the  oceanic  archipelagoes  of  the  Galapagos  and  Juan  Fernandez 
are  distinguished  amongst  all  marine  lands  for  the  original  character  of  their 
floras,  forming  in  this  respect  little  worlds  apart. 

By  keeping  in  view  the  chief  contrasts  between  the  floras  diversely 
intermingled  at  the  points  of  transition  from  zone  to  zone,  South  America 
may  be  divided  into  eight  great  botanical  domains,  to  which  mu.st  be  added 
the  archipelagoes,  as  forming  so  many  different  provinces.  The  Falkland 
Islands,  however,  resemble  Tierra  del  Fuego  in  their  herbaceous  and  scrubby 
growths,  and  in  the  general  aspect  of  their  vegetation. 

According  to  0.  Drude*  the  eight  divisions  are  as  under  : — 

Tropical  Zone. — 1.  Evergreen  virgin  forests ;  rains  throughout  the  year,  or 
for  not  less  than  nine  months. 

2.  Forests  and  savannas  intermingled ;  dry  season  of  over  three  mouChs. 

3.  Tropical  flora  of  the  uplands. 

Temperate  Zone. — 4.  Evergreen  forests  with  palms  and  pines ;  summer  rains 
from  December  to  March. 

6.  Evergreen  shrubs  ;  few  or  no  trees ;  no  palms  ;  winter  rains. 

6.  Evergreen  trees,  with  deciduous  leaves ;  bush ;  pine  forests ;  no  palms ; 
rains  throughout  the  j'ear. 

7.  Prairies,  steppes,  and  deserts ;  great  variations  of  temperature ;  slight 
rainfall. 

Frigid  Zone  in  the  south  and  on  the  uplands. — 8.  Impoverished  arborescent 
vegetation. 

Thanks  to  its  extremely  diversified  flora.  South  America  has,  during  the  lust 
four  centuries,  given  to  the  civilised  world  more  plants  useful  for  alimentary, 
medicinal,  and  industrial  purposes  than  any  other  division  of  the  globe.  The 
potato,  which  has  become  the  staple  food  of  so  many  millions  of  human  beings,  is 
of  South  American  origin,  growing  wild  at  various  altitudes  in  the  region  of  the 

*  Berghaus'a  Phytikalitcher  Allot. 


1 


.iL__.-..:s_^-„l;-^^^, 


':.M 


.*N* 


"^tfis'i 


■,^im,nu  ii_i 


FLOEA  OP  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


80 


3 

'S 


»{ 


Andes  from  Colombia  to  Chili.  Manioc  and  yums,  even  more  indispensable  to 
certain  negro  and  West  Indian  populationH  of  Latin  Anierioa  than  the  p^'tato  can 
ever  be  to  the  Germans  and  Irish,  are  also  indigenous  in  the  southern  section  of 
the  New  VVorld.  From  the  same  region  also  come  a  species  of  bean,  the  tomato, 
the  ground-nut,  cacao  thcohroma  ("  food  of  the  gods "),  the  pineapple,  guava, 
chirimoya,  and  many  other  fruits  now  flourishing  in  the  tropical  zone  of  the  Old 
World. 

Sooner  or  later  South  America  will  supply  the  gardens  of  Europe  with  other 
economic  plants  not  yet  acclimatised,  such  as  the  quinoa,  a  species  of  chenopodium, 
whose  seeds  when  ground  yield  a  kind  of  bread ;  the  arracacha  root,  which  resembles 
celery ;  mat^  ("  Paraguay  tea  "),  which  takes  the  place  of  tea  in  Argentina  and 
South  Brazil ;  perhaps,  also,  the  ceiba  (cheese-tree),  which  attains  a  great  size 
in  the  Bolivar  district,  Venezuela.  The  industries  have  received  from  South 
America  the  sap  of  various  rubber  plants ;  and  medicine  is  indebted  to  it  for, 
amongst  other  products,  such  drugs  as  ipecacuanha ;  tolu  balm  ;  cinchona,  which 
dispels  fevers;  and  the  coca  leaf,  which  allays  pain  and  the  pangs  of  hunger. 

In  return  the  South  American  continent  has  been  enriched  by  nearly  all  the 
alimentary  and  industrial  species  of  Europe  and  Asia.  The  banana  spread  so 
rapidly  in  the  hot  regions  that  most  naturalists  supposed  it  to  be  indigenous  ;  it 
was  introduced  into  the  New  World  by  the  now  almost  forgotten  bishop,  Thomas 
de  Berlanga,  the  same  benefactor  of  his  kind  to  whom  we  owe  the  discovery  of  the 
Galapagos  Islands.*  Unfortunately,  with  the  useful  species  came  also  the  weeds 
of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere.  On  the  elevated  plain  of  Bogota,  as  well  as  on  the 
surrounding  slopes,  the  foxglove  {digitalis  purpurea)  thrives  vigorously. 


'm 


4' 


Fauna. 

The  fauna  of  the  South  American  mainland  is  of  a  very  distinct  character. 
In  this  relatively  isolated  division  of  the  globe  the  untmal  forms  have  necessarily 
diverged  from  the  types  prevailing  elsewhere.  But  there  survive  none  of  the 
huge  beasts  of  former  epochs,  such  as  the  "  mastodon  of  the  Andes "  whose 
remains  are  found  in  the  gravels  of  the  Chilian  lacustrine  formations.  Hence 
South  America  has  no  longer  any  animals  comparable  in  size  to  the  Asiatic  or 
African  elephant,  the  giraffe,  hippopotamus,  or  rhinoceros,  the  tapir  being,  in 
fact,  the  largest  of  all  its  mammals.  There  are,  however,  long-tailed  apes,  differ- 
ing greatly  from  the  anthropoids  of  the  Old  World,  and  from  the  lemurs  of 
Madagascar. 

The  forests  are  infested  by  carnivora  of  the  feline  and  canine  families,  by 
bears,  martins,  otters,  and  weasels,  while  the  order  of  bats  is  represented  by  nume- 
rous species,  including  the  blood-sucking  vampire.  South  America  has  no  camels, 
which  are  here  replaced  by  the  analogous  but  smaller  llamas  and  vicunas  of  the 
Andes.  Various  forms  of  marsupials  range  the  whole  continent  as  far  south  as 
the  southern  Argentine  states  and  Patagonia.  The  avifauna  has  received  an 
enormous  development,  containing  no  less  than  2,300  species  ;  and  the  fishes  of 

*  MarooB  Jimenez  de  la  Egpada,  Boletin  de  la  Soeitdad  Oeografiea  d*  Madrid,  1891. 


SOUTH  AMERICA— TUE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


<  %«•'.' 


the  inlund  Mfreuiiis  and  aurrounding  murine  waters  are  even  still  more  numerous. 
The  manatee,  one  of  the  murine  munnu:<l8  frequenting  the  coast,  penctrutcs  fur  up 
the  Amuzons  und  its  great  aiHuuntu,  and  although  actively  pursued  by  the  fisher- 
men, it  here  muintuins  itself  iu  scutter..J  gruups. 

As  has  been  shrewdly  remarked  by  the  learned  zoologist,  Jimenez  de  la  Espada, 
the  vast  forests  of  the  Amazons  basin  must  have  tended  to  modify  in  a  uniform 
manner  the  habits,  and  consequently  the  organic  structure  itself,  of  all  the  animal 
species.  The  inoxtricuble  thickets  of  underwood,  often  flooded,  and  always  per- 
vaded by  a  heavy,  stifling  utmosphere,  impede  the  free  movement  of  mummals  and 
even  the  flight  of  birds.  Many  forms  which  elsewhere  live  on  the  ground  or  fly 
low  are  here  of  arboreal  habits,  hopping  or  flitting  from  brunch  to  branch  umid 
the  dense  foliugo  of  lofty  trees.  While  all  is  still  and  silent  in  the  low  under- 
growths,  the  leafy  boughs  struggling  upwards  to  the  light  are  ulive  with  the  songs 
and  cries  of  their  denizens.  Here  is  the  true  life  of  the  forest.  The  more  majestic 
trees,  such  as  the  ceiba,  are  nearly  always  of  solitary  growth. 

Despite  the  short  period  that  has  elapsed  since  their  introduction,  the  domestic 
animals  impoi-ted  from  Europe  have  already  been  modified  by  the  changed  environ- 
ment. New  breeds  of  horses  have  been  developed,  especially  in  the  Argentine 
pampas  and  Venezuelan  llanos.  Here  this  animal  had  till  lately  increased  prodi- 
giously, as  if  striving  to  equal  the  multitudes  of  equidoo  which  roamed  these 
plains  in  a  former  geological  epoch.  Throughout  nearly  half  of  the  continent  the 
horse  hud  returned  to  the  wild  state,  as  had  also  the  pig  and  horned  cattle.  Of 
dogs  there  still  survive  one  or  more  of  th.  old  native  breeds,  one  of  Avhich  had 
been  tamed  by  the  Incas.  The  wild  Indians  of  the  Antis  family  also  possess  a 
species  of  black-and-white  colour,  long  body  and  low  intelligence,  which  hunts  like 
our  greyhounds.  There  is  also  the  Fuegiun  dog,  which  resembles  both  the  jackal 
and  the  fox.  The  American  breeds  have  almost  everywhere  been  crossed,  and  the 
more  or  less  mixed  European  varieties  are  now  everywhere  dominant. 


■i 


IV. 

Inhabitants  ok  South  America. 

The  South  American  Indians — Peruvians  or  Caribs,  Botocudos,  Araucanians  or 
Patagonians — are  less  famed  in  history  than  some  of  the  North  American  nations, 
such  as  the  Ilurons  and  Iroquois.  Thinks  to  the  fascinating  novels  of  Fenimore 
Cooper,  the  single  Algonquian  tribe  of  the  Mohicans  is  more  frequently  mentioned 
than  the  most  renowned  aboriginal  people  of  the  southern  continent.  The  expres- 
sion "  redskins,"  applied  to  the  natives  by  the  New  England  and  Canadian  settlers, 
has  been  too  frequently  used  to  designate  all  the  indigenous  populations  of  the 
New  World,  although  scarcely  applicable  at  all  to  those  of  the  south. 

But  a  sort  of  pre-eminence  was  conceded  to  the  northern  aborigines,  as  if  they 
were  in  a  superlative  sense  the  typical  branch  of  the  American  ethnical  family. 
Yet  the  South  American  natives,  whether  of  light  or  dark  complexion,  far  outnum- 
ber those  of  the  north.     Some  of  their  cultured  nations,  also,  were  at  least  fully  as 


•yp 


ABORIOTNRS  OK  SOUin  AMKKICA. 


87 


pres- 

tlers, 

the 

they 
Imily. 
Inura- 
llly  as 


civiliHcd  as  the  Aztecs  and  tho  other  more  advanced  peoples  of  the  Mexican  phiteuu. 
Moreover,  the  Indians  of  Lutiu  Ameriuu,  including  thuMO  Mexicans  themselves, 
have  displayed  more  vitality,  more  imwer  of  reHiwting  the  destructive  forces 
than  the  redskins  properly  so  called.  While  the  latter  have  either  dimippeared, 
or  been  for  the  most  part  swept  into  "  resorves,"  the  former  still  constitute  the 
Hubstrutum  of  the  population  in  the  land  uf  their  forefathers. 

TtiE  Aborigines. 

All  sixteenth-century  chronicles  are  unanimous  in  a«*8erting  that  the  southern 
continent  was  thickly  peopled  at  the  time  when  the  Conciuistudores  penetrated  into 
the  interior  of  the  New  World.  Doubtless  the  leaders  of  the  Spanish  bands  who 
curved  their  way  through  empires  sword  in  hand  often  sought  to  enhance  their 
glory  by  exaggerating  the  multitudes  they  hud  butchered.  Hut  apart  from  the 
vapourings  of  these  ruthless  adventurers,  many  u  spontaneous  remark,  many  a 
detail  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  reports  shows  that  the  inhabitants  were 
really  numerous. 

Authentic  witnesses  speak  of  whole  districts,  of  spacious  valleys,  of  vast 
plateaux  where  the  natives  were  crowded  together  in  towns  and  villages,  but  which 
a  hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  whites  had  become  complete  solitudes. 
At  the  present  time  the  heaps  of  refuse  still  found  after  three  centuries  on  the 
plains  of  the  Peruvian  seaboard,  as  well  as  on  the  mountain  slopes,  the  so-called 
andencs,  or  sustaining  walls,  following  like  flights  of  gigantic  steps  up  the  sides  of 
the  hills,  recall  the  terraces  of  tilled  lands  which  encircled  the  mountains  as  with 
wrea.hs  of  green  crops. 

A  century  after  the  Pacific  slope  had  been  wasted  by  the  Spanish  invaders, 
when  the  missionaries  descended  the  opposite  side  into  the  Amazonian  valleys,  there 
also  they  found,  the  land  occupied  by  numerous  tribes.  One  of  them  having 
asked  u  chief  of  the  Jeberos  how  many  nations  dwelt  in  the  forest  regions  round 
about,  he  replied,  taking  a  handful  of  sand  and  throwing  it  into  the  air,  "  Count- 
less as  these  grains  of  dust  are  the  nations  of  this  country.  Not  u  lake,  not  a  river, 
not  a  hill  or  a  valley,  not  a  plain  or  a  forest  but  is  filled  with  inhabitants." 

Unquestionably  millions  of  human  beings  perished  through  wanton  cruelties, 
and  especially  by  the  forced  labour  imiK)sed  on  the  natives,  who  were  literally 
worked  to  death.  Their  employment  under  the  lash  of  the  overseer  in  the  mines 
and  on  the  burning  soil  of  the  plantations  ;  no  doubt,  also,  the  crushing  burdens 
and  weary  marches  of  these  "  pack  animals  "  along  the  rough  mountain  tracks, 
resulted  in  the  rapid  disappearance  of  nearly  all  those  whom  the  conquest  had 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  white  employers.  Doubtless  many  tribes  were  able  to 
avoid  oppression  by  taking  refuge  in  the  mountains  or  the  forests ;  but  they  were 
unable  to  escape  the  fearful  mortality  caused  by  the  epidemics  following  in  the 
wake  of  the  invaders.  Thus,  in  the  seventeenth  century  a  great  part  of  the  natives 
perished  in  the  upland  Amazonian  valleys.  Here  the  only  resident  whites  were 
the  missionaries,  who  strove  to  gather  the  Indie ns  around  them  in  peaceful  com- 
munities; but  by  inducing  their  flocks  ia  chanfj?  their  habits  of  life,  they  made 


I 


■nfv^ 


m 


88 


fioUTII  AMi:Uir.\-TIIE  ANDES  RE0I0N3. 


them  tlie  nioro  HUHcoptiblo  fo  tlio  raviif^oM  of  diMoaso.  Wholt'  popultitioiiH  wore 
(h'Mtroyed  by  Hiuull-pox,  uikI  in  diMtrictn  onco  occupiod  by  flouriNliin^  villugcH, 
iiiithiiifj^  iH  now  Hi'on  I'xecpt  u  fuw  aurvivors  oiioiuiipi d  in  th»  foroHl  ^ludffl. 

At  tbe  timo  of  fho  j^nut  mortulity  following  tlio  contpu'Ht  it  wns  Nup[)OHod  that 
fill'  aboriginoN  were  doHtiiicd  to  disappear  on  tho  mainland,  an  tlicy  had  already 
diHappfarod  in  KRpanola  and  tho  othur  West  Indian  islundH.  Even  h)ng  aftorwurdN 
thoir  ultiniato  extinction  continued  to  be  reg.-rdod  as  inevitable.  liut  hiMtory  has 
fortunately  proved  tho  contrary.  After  the  pt  rioU  of  decline  tho  natives,  (runs- 
formed  by  erossinpffl  with  tho  whites,  ore  again  iucrcaHing,  if  not  everywhere,  at 
least  amongst  thoir  more  important  groups.  Compared  with  tho  other  great 
representative  races  of  the  world,  they  are  advancing  oven  at  it  more  rapid  rate 
than  the  whites,  but  they  no  longer  advance  as  u  distinct  race.  Henceforth  the 
descendants  of  conquered  aiul  conquerors  are  merged  in  a  single  nationality. 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  southern  aborigines  are  distinguished  from  those  of 
tho  Laurentian  and  Mississippi  regions  by  the  colour  of  their  skin,  which  is  not 
coppery  rod,  but  presents,  a(!cording  to  place  and  race,  two  distinct  tints,  olive- 
brown  and  yellow,  with  all  tho  intermediate  shades.  Neglecting  tho  minor 
groups,  brown  may  be  said  in  a  general  way  to  prevail  amongst  the  natives  of 
the  Andes,  yollow  amongst  those  of  the  plains  and  of  the  Guiana  and  Brazilian 
uplands.* 

To  what  is  to  be  attributed  this  difference  in  the  complexion  of  the  two 
main  divisions  of  the  aborigines  P  Probably  to  more  than  one  cause.  The  con- 
trasts of  climates,  of  pursuits,  of  habits,  of  food,  all  contribute  in  vorious 
degrees  to  produce  contrasts  in  tho  colour  of  the  skin.  It  must  bo  especially 
borne  in  mind  that  the  natives  of  tho  western  slopes  of  tho  Andes  live  under  a 
dry  clitnate,  or  at  least  one  far  less  moist  than  that  of  the  eastern  regions, 
that  they  are  for  the  most  part  agriculturists,  and  that  their  diet  is  chiefly 
vegetarian.  The  hunting  and  fishing  tribes  of  the  plains  are,  on  the  contrary, 
far  more  carnivorous. 

Differences  occur  in  the  shape  of  the  skull,  and  in  tho  stature,  although  tho 
comparative  tables  of  these  discrepancies  do  not  supply  suflBcient  materials  for  a 
definite  classification  of  the  Indians  based  on  racial  characteristics. t  While 
differing  in  many  other  respects,  all  the  natives  resemble  each  other  in  the 
quality  of  their  hair,  which  is  coarse,  black,  and  lank,  in  their  scanty  beard, 
short  chin,  small,  deep-sunk  eyes,  powerful  jaws,  and  fine  teeth.  Physical 
deformity  is  extremely  rare,  which  should  be  attributed  to  the  perfect  freedom 
of  movement  left  to  the  children,  nearly  all  of  whom  are  allowed  to  run  about 
naked. 

Certain  writers  of   the  lost  century,  notably  Ulloa,  who  hud,  nevertheless, 

*  A.  d'Orbigiiy,  V Homme  AmeHeain. 

f  Ccphiilio  index  of  the  South  American  aborigines,  according  to  Hyadea  and  Deniker : — 

Extreme  brauhycephaly  :  Futagonians  85 

Extreme  dolichooephaly  :  Ooroados  of  Soutn  Brazil 70 

Stature ;  — 

Highest :  Piitagonians,  according  to  A.  d'Orbigny        .         .    (mean)  6  ft.  10  ins. 

ShorteHt:  Oalibi,  uo  urding  to  Deniker  .         ....    (mean)    6  ft. '2  ins. 


'mr 


W 


T<i  .1  )  iiumv 


ABOBIGINES  01'  SOUTH  AMEBIOA. 


80 


lilc 

the 

aril, 

*ical 

(lorn 

boat 

jlesa, 


viMitod  tho  Now  World,  but  who  liad  in  viow  chi»^lly  tho  luoroHo  iiiul  j^hmtny 
(iuichuus  of  Kcuiidor,  <huu*>«l  all  iutolli^'oncu  to  tho  South  Aincricuii  ubon'^iuos. 
"  Thoy  hiivo  iH'ithor  (li«cr«tion  nor  undorKtiindin^  " ;  tlicy  iiro  "aniinula," 
"  brutoH,''  iind  so  on.  So  also  numy  koUUth  in  llrazil  cuMed  thcni  /nrhos  do 
mulo,  "  boii.st8  of  tho  forest."  Hut  Burh  oxprciHions  roHoct  cliioHy  on  those 
who  uttur  thorn.  Tiio  fact  is,  those  nativos,  liito  all  other  human  racos,  share  in 
cur  strength  and  our  weakness,  possess  in  various  degrees  our  intellectual  and 
moral  faculties,  rise  to  the  performance  of  great  deeds,  and  relapse  into  degrading 
practices,  advanoo  or  recede  according  to  the  struggles  in  wliich  thoy  are 
<*ngngod,  the  environment  in  whioh  they^  dwell,  tlio  degree  of  liberty  which 
they  enjoy. 

Several  South  American  nations,  such  as  the  Muyscns,  (iuicliuas,  Aymaras, 
and  other  Andean  races,  made  HufFieient  progress  to  entitle  their  social  system 
to  be  called  "  civilised."  They  had  acquired  tho  arts  of  husbandry  ;  they  wore 
able  to  make  oarthonwaro,  to  weave  textiles,  to  work  in  copper,  gold,  and  silver, 
to  build  oditiccs  lasting  for  centuries,  to  carve  statues,  to  embellish  their  vases 
and  garments  with  artistic  designs,  to  construct  highways  and  bridges,  and  if  not 
to  write,  at  least  to  keep  regular  records  by  moaas  of  knotted  strings. 

Yet  they  lay  under  a  heavy  disadvantage  compared  with  tho  peoplas  of  tho 
Old  World.  They  possessed  no  domestic  animals  strong  enough  to  supplement 
their  own  physical  efforts.  The  extraordinary  skill  displayed  by  them  in  taming 
tho  beasts  of  the  field  gave  them  pets,  but  no  fellow-workers.  In  this  respect, 
they  had  nothing  but  the  feeble  llama  and  the  dog  to  compare  with  tlie  camel, 
tho  horse,  the  aas,  ox,  goat,  and  sheep  possessed  by  the  inhabitants  of  other 
continents. 

The  so-called  wild  tribes  occupying  the  central  and  eastern  forests  have 
also  their  place  in  the  history  of  human  progress,  and  several  of  them  haVe 
already  begun  to  co-operate  with  the  whites  on  a  footing  of  equality.  But  the 
transition  from  one  social  state  to  another  cannot  be  effected  without  profound 
disturbances.  The  hunting  populations,  Avho  have  succeeded  in  keeping  aloof 
from  the  whites  and  mestizoes  in  the  forests  remote  from  the  fluvial  highways, 
or  in  their  secluded  upland  valleys,  have  preserved  their  graceful  carriage,  their 
proud  glance,  and  straightforward  speech,  whereas  the  enslaved  peasantry 
tremble  before  their  masters,  bow  their  necks  to  the  yoke,  and  carefully  measure 
the  words  addressed  with  downcast  eyes  to  their  employers. 

Chief  Divisions  of  the  South  American  Aborigines. 

Thanks  to  the  researches  and  linguistic  studies  of  numerous  intelligent 
observers,  it  has  become  possible  to  classify  most  of  the  aborigines  according 
to  their  probable  genetic  descent,  although  difficulties  are  still  presented  by 
certain  tribes  remote  from  the  bulk  of  their  ethnical  family.  One  of  the  best- 
defined  groups  is  that  of  the  Muyscas,  or  Chibchas,  aa  they  called  themselves, 
who  had  formerly  established  their  dominion  on  the  Cundinamurca  plateau,  in  the 
midst  of  numerous  kindred  tribes. 


M 


-^m 


f.-'^i 


40 


SOUTH  AMEBICA— THE  ANDl-lS  REOIONS. 


m 


8/ 
1} 


Farther  south  both  slopes  of  the  Ecuador  and  Peruvian  Andes  belonged  to 
the  great  Quichua  nation,  followed  in  the  present  territory  of  Bolivia  by  the 
distantly    connected    Aymaras,    ruder    of    manners,   but   of    equally   inoffensive 

Fig.  13. — Main  Divisions  of  thk  Soutu  Akebioan  Aborioines. 
Scale  1  :  60,000,000, 


1^?  Hilea. 


character.     The  southern  extremity  of  the  Cordilleras,  with  the  dependent  terri- 
tories, formed  the  domain  of  the  more  warlike  Araucanlans. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent  the  formerly  powerful  Carib  (Caraib) 
race,  till  recently  supposed  to  be  extinct,  because  no  longer  found  in  the 
Antilles,  are  still  represented  by  various  tribal  groups,  reaching  far  into  the 
interior  of  the  Amazons  basin.  Intermingled  with  them  are  the  Arawaks  of  the 
Upper  Amazons  and  other  districts.      But  in  their  long  conflicts  with  hostik 


''■*}','VS'V>»<j^.'|ftV"^°^y?i^;^^^ 


jrn- 


^raib) 
the 
the 
the 

loBtila 


ABORIGINES  OF  SOUTH  AMEEICA. 


41 


peoples,  these  Arawaks  have  mostly  been  worsted,  and  many  of  them  have  been 
scattered  over  the  Guiana  coastlands,  while  the  bulk  of  the  race  has  been 
pressed  westwards  to  the  foot  of  the  great  mountains.  Here  they  are  associated 
with  the  Antis,  who  have  given  their  name  to  the  Cordillera  of  the  "  Andes," 
and  who  formerly  occupied  parts  of  the  Andean  plateaux,  as  well  as  the 
eastern  valL-yS;  where  the  southern  Aiiiazonian  affluents  have  their  source. 

The  Miranhas  and  related  tribes  are  limited  to  the  region  comprised  between 
the  left  bank  of  the  Amazons  and  its  two  tributaries,  the  I^a  and  Rio  Negro. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  great  river,  the  Panes  group  is  dominant  on  the 
tJcayali  and  Madeira,  and  the  Carayas  on  the  Xingu  and  Araguaya,  affluents. 

In  the  extreme  east  the  Botocudos  of  the  Brazilian  coastlands  are  a  branch 
of  the  Ges  race,  whose  numerous  tribes  follow  from  north  to  south,  from  the 
banks  of  the  Tocantins  to  those  of  the  Parana.  But  of  all  the  Brazilian  families 
the  most  important,  for  the  number  of  its  tribes  and  the  extent  of  territory 
occupied  by  them,  is  that  of  the  Tupi  or  Guarani,  who  have  given  their  language 
to  most  of  the  natives  of  the  interior,  and  who  have  approached  nearest  to  the 
whites  in  general  culture.  Conterminous  with  them  on  the  upper  Paraguay 
dwell  the  Guaycurus,  and  in  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  district  a  few  remnants  of  the 
Goytacas  or  Puri,  while  the  Charruas  of  the  La  Plata  region  are  now  represented 
only  by  half-breeds.  But  the  Indians  of  the  Patagonian  family  still  possess 
several  full-blood  groups,  and  Tierra  del  Fuego  has  also  its  distinct  ethnical 
family,  driven  from  the  mainland  to  this  insular  extremity  of  the  continent. 

Instead  of  classifying  the  South  American  Indians  by  their  linguistic 
affinities,  D'Orbigny  and  others  have  attempted  to  group  them  according  to 
their  physical  characteristics.  They  might  also  be  classified  according  to  certain 
usages,  such  as  tattooing,  circumcision,  filing  the  teeth,  artificial  deformation  of 
the  skull,  and  especially  cannibalism.  But  in  the  vicinity  of  the  white  settle- 
ments the  study  of  the  aborigines  becomes  more  and  more  difficult,  owing  to  the 
rapid  changes  going  on  in  their  social  and  political  state,  as  well  as  in  their  habits 
of  life. 

Certain  tribes  have  disappeared  either  by  actual  extinction  or  by  absorption 
in  others,  while  many  can  no  longer  be  recognised,  owing  to  displacements 
accompanied  by  change  of  names.  But  great  migrations  have  not  been  numerous 
during  the  four  centuries  that  have  elapsed  since  the  discovery.  The  natives 
have  scarcely  shifted  their  camping-gnmnds,  except  in  those  districts  where  the 
advent  of  the  Europeans  was  for  them  the  signal  of  inevitable  doom.  Never- 
theless, all  those  who  have  failed  to  enter  the  Latinised  social  system  of  South 
America  by  the  process  of  miscegenation,  present  a  uniform  spectacle  of  decadence, 
which  has  to  be  described  in  almost  identical  terms  in  dealing  especially  with  those 
regions  where  their  forefathers  were  dominant. 

The  Hai.f-Brekds. — Miscegenation. 
Nowhere  has  the  work  of  fusion  between  the  various   ethnical  elements  of 
the  Old  and  New  World  made  auch  progress  as  in  the  Andean  regions.    The 


grrm 


•<wC>>!^S.r/>iiiSJSS-JSkAffi-;»S!*>t4i'ia  ,;•.■.:,, 


Tie.":?'?.^^ 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  BEGIONS. 


process  may  even  bo  regarded  as  completed  in  all  the  more  populous  districts  of 
Venezuela  and  Colombia,  in  certain  parts  of  Peru,  in  north  and  central  Chili,  as 
well  as  in  Uruguay  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Plate  river.  On  the  other  hand, 
nearly  all  the  tribes  of  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  in  the  great 
Amazonian  forests,  have  preserved  their  social  characters  by  keeping  entirely  aloof 
from  the  whites. 

Farther  east,  on  the  Guiana  and  Brazilian  seaboards,  the  populations  of  mixed 
origin  again  become  dominant.  But  in  these  regions  the  process  of  miscege- 
nation has  taken  place,  not  so  much  between  the  aborigines  and  the  European 
settlers,  as  between  the  latter  and  the  Africans,  descendants  of  formerly  imported 
slaves.  In  South  America  the  strain  of  black  blood  increases  in  the  direction 
from  west  to  east,  and  the  coloured  element  even  greatly  predominates  in  the 
Brazilian  provinces  which  project  nearest  to  the  African  continent.  Full-blood 
families,  whether  white  or  black,  are  scarcely  met  at  all  along  this  eastern 
seaboard. 

Besides  the  blending  of  the  white  type  on  the  one  hand  with  that  of  the 
Indians,  on  the  other  with  that  of  the  negroes,  there  occur,  here  and  there,  a 
limited  number  of  half-breeds,  the  direct  issue  either  of  native  men  and  African 
women,  or  of  African  men  and  native  women.  But  as  a  rule  the  ethnical  combina- 
tions are  much  more  complex  than  such  mixtures  as  these.  During  the  course  of 
the  ten  or  twelve  generations  that  have  followed  since  the  period  of  the  conquest, 
the  fusion  of  the  various  elements  has  assumed  an  endlessly  diversified  aspect. 
Although  every  individual  half-breed  may  possibly  be  classified  and  denotated  in 
a  general  way  by  his  complexion  and  more  salient  features,  the  proportions  vary 
beyond  all  calculation. 

This  ethnological  problem  is  further  complicated  by  the  phenomena  of  atavism, 
in  virtue  of  which  the  blends  show  a  tendency  to  revert  to  one  or  other  of  the 
original  types.  The  question  of  miscegenation,  everywhere  so  difficult,  should 
be  studied  especially  in  South  America,  where  every  town,  village  and  hamlet  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  every  tribe  presents  "specimens"  of  every  conceivable  variety. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  comparative  value  of  the  results  of 
such  and  such  crossings.  Thus,  according  to  D'Orbigny,  the  issues  of  unions 
between  different  Indian  races  have  always  proved  superior  to  either  of  the 
original  types.  So  also  the  progeny  of  white  men  and  Guarani  women  is  dis- 
tinguished by  noble  features  and  fine  figures,  nearly  always  of  white  colour  from 
the  outset,  whereas  Araucanian  and  Quichua  mestizoes  long  preserve  the  cha- 
racters of  the  native  stock. 

The  fusion  of  negroes  with  Guarani  women  appears  highly  favourable  for  the 
physical  improvement  of  the  race.  Other  crossingo  are,  on  the  contrary,  regarded 
as  baneful,  resulting,  as  is  asserted,  both  in  bodily  and  moral  degradation.  But 
despite  the  facilities  offered  by  the  southern  continent  for  the  study  of  miscegena- 
tion, the  subject  is  still  involved  in  much  obscurity.  The  fact,  however,  remains 
that,  viewed  as  a  whole,  the  population  of  South  America  is  the  most  "  human," 
representing    the    most   complete  fusion    of   the    most    characteristic   primitive 


re^ 


'^ii^^B?'-^ 


iiii>.Mi<i>.niMii! 


.\  tff^^^^^xnv.'-^fp^ 


^'i 


HISTORIC  SUEVEY. 


48 


the 
rded 

But 
jena- 
lains 
lan, 


elements — American  Indian,  African  black,  and  white  of  Europe.  Here  is  being 
physically  developed  the  most  representative  race  of  the  human  species,  taken  in 
its  entirety.  In  this  respect  what  a  contrast  between  this  continent  and  North 
America,  where  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  kept  mainly  aloof  both  from  the  redskins 
and  the  blacks,  thrusting  them  aside,  and  even  exterminating  them  rather  tlian 
sully  their  racial  purity  by  contact  with  lower  elements. 

Historic  Retrospect — The  Revolution. 

For  over  two  centuries  after  the  prodigious  and  horrible  romance  of  the  Con- 
quest, the  South  American  populations  may  be  said  to  have  been  overcome  by  a 
heavy  social  and  political  sleep.  Under  the  system  of  bondage  imposed  by  the 
Council  of  the  Indies,  tempered  or  aggravated  at  intervals  by  the  caprice  of  the 
viceroys,  the  natives  and  even  the  settlers  of  European  origin  ceased  to  have  any 
historic  existence ;  all  intercourse  with  aliens  involved  confiscation  of  property  and 
capital  punishment.  As  if  by  a  sort  of  embryonic  life,  the  movement  of  the 
American  nations  was  carried  on,  no  longer  on  the  surface,  but  in  the  depths  of 
society,  where  was  accomplished  the  transformation  of  hostile  races  into  a  com- 
pact nationality.  Spaniards  and  Quichuus,  Portuguese,  Africans  and  Guarani 
were  preparing  for  their  second  birth  as  South  Americans.  But  meanwhile  silence 
reigned  supreme,  jealously  guarded  from  interruption  by  their  rulers.  The  sub- 
mhC.  /  cf  the  aborigines  seemed  absolute,  and  a  force  of  2,000  men  sufficed 
foi  ■  anish  Government  to  maintain  an  atrociously  despotic  administration 

ove  '    9se  multitudes  of  enslaved  peoples. 

In  such  a  vast  region  as  South  America,  destitute  of  easy  communications,  and 
inhabited  by  peoples  of  diverse  speech  and  origin,  insurrections  could  not  be 
organised  for  combined  and  sudden  action.  The  partial  and  isolated  struggles  for 
independence  were  even  necessarily  attended  and  followed  by  reaciionary  move- 
ments. In  Peru  the  first  blow  struck  for  emancipation,  so  far  from  being  of  a 
bold  and  resolute  character,  was,  on  the  contrary,  disguised  under  the  form  of  a 
pretext  for  a  "  legitimist "  restoration.  In  the  revolt  of  1780  the  leader  of  the 
insurgents  was  a  descendant  of  the  Incas  named  Tupac  Amaru,  like  the  last 
sovereign  of  that  race.  But  he  was  soon  vanquished,  and,  like  hira  also,  perished 
on  the  gallows  after  the  massacre  of  his  followers. 

The  first  Brazilian  rising  was  inspired  by  a  feeling  of  patriotism,  its  object 
being  the  expulsion  of  the  Dutch  from  Pernambuco.  After  seven  years  of  san- 
guinary conflicts  it  achieved  its  purpose,  the  insurgents  storming  the  Batavian 
fortifications  in  the  year  1634.  Men  of  all  Brazilian  races,  Indians,  negroes  and 
whites,  had  taken  part  in  the  struggle,  and  Fernandez  Vieira,  generally  regarded 
as  the  hero  of  the  war,  was  a  mulatto.  Later  the  negro  slaves  rose  against  their 
masters,  and  even  founded  in  the  interior  a  few  independent  republics,  which 
enjoyed  an  ephemeral  existence.  Then  came  in  1798  the  first  attempt  at 
political  independence,  led  by  Xavier,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Tiradentes. 

But  the  great  South  American  revolution  was  heralded  by  a  series  of  petty 
revoltSj  breaking  out  now  in  oue  place,  now  in  another,  all  suppressed  in  their 


o: 


foi 
th( 


wa 
rep 


HISTOEIC  SURVEY. 


46 


late," 
mder 
tut  in 


Gradually  the  various  elements  of  local  revolution,  in  one  place  the  discontent 
of  the  Creoles  at  the  appointment  of  Spanish  or  Portuguese  functionaries,  in 
another  racial  hatreds  between  whites,  blacks,  and  Indians,  elsewhere  the  struggles 
of  "  the  masses  against  the  classes  " — all  was  merged  in  the  tremendous  contact 
between  the  innovators  and  the  representatives  of  the  old  con  orvative  ideas.  In 
this  conflict  everybody,  yielding  to  his  sympathies,  his  traditions  or  interests,  took 
sides  with  the  party  with  which  his  personal  feelings  were  most  in  harmony. 
Thus  it  happened  that  in  the  two  armies,  whites  found  themselves  arrayed  against 
whites,  blacks  against  blacks,  aborigines  against  aborigines.  And  so  the  very 
war  itself  had  the  effect  of  welding  the  three  races  in  a  more  intimate  national 
unity. 

On  issuing  from  the  struggle  the  old  Spanish  colonies  had,  under  the  influence 
of  the  French  encyclopedists,  constituted  themselves  republics  based  on  the  model 
of  the  United  States,  while  Brazil,  still  hampered  in  its  evolution  by  the  great 
number  of  its  slaves,  was  satisfied  with  a  change  of  sovereigns  ;  it  ceased  to  be  a 
colony  to  become  an  autonomous  empire. 

The  community  of  interests  binding  all  the  Brazilian  slaveowners  together, 
and  the  national  cohesion  presented  by  the  various  groups  of  settlements  along 
the  coast  and  on  the  inland  plateaux,  enabled  Brazil  to  preserve  a  state  of  almost 
unbroken  public  tranquillity  for  one  or  two  generations.  But  in  the  Hispano- 
American  stttes  the  relations  were  very  different.  In  these  regions,  differing  in 
climate,  relief  of  the  land,  origin,  speech  and  customs  of  its  inhabitants,  con- 
flicting interests  gave  rise  to  incessant  struggles.  Hence  the  attempt  proved 
hopeless  to  unite  in  a  single  commonwealth  of  vast  dimensions  the  Andean 
highlands,  the  seaboard  and  inland  plains,  the  torrid  and  temperate  zones,  the 
Pacific  and  Atlantic  coastlands. 

At  first  it  had  seemed  natural  enough  to  merge  in  a  single  political  body  the 
immense  possessions  formerly  owned  by  Spain  in  the  New  World.  In  fact,  from 
the  purely  geographical  standpoint,  South  America  is  admirably  suited  to  be 
occupied  by  a  united  people.  While  resembling  Africa  in  its  general  outline,  it 
differs  altogether  from  that  continent  in  its  internal  structure,  and  in  the  perfect 
harmony  of  all  its  parts.  Most  of  the  regions  on  the  African  seaboard  are  com- 
pletely isolated  one  from  the  other  by  solitudes  and,  till  recently,  unexplored  tracts, 
whereas  the  regions  of  South  America  abutting  on  the  great  backbone  of  the 
Cordilleras,  and  watered  by  tributaries  of  the  same  mainstreams,  stand  in  a  relation 
of  close  mutual  dependence.  They  constitute  collectively  a  geographical  unit  of 
a  strikingly  simple  character. 

But  if  the  salient  features  of  the  continent  and  the  disposition  of  its  relief 
forecast  political  unity  in  a  more  or  less  renr.ote  future,  the  actual  distribution  of 
the  populations  in  widely  diffused  groups,  and  unconnected  by  any  common 
trading  relations,  necessarily  tended  to  create  independent  centres  of  political  life. 
Federal  decentralisation,  followed  by  complete  separation  of  the  several  states, 
was  brought  about  by  the  very  force  of  circumstances  in  each  of  the  new 
republics. 


•*»i,.7.<s*»^«if  j-(S9ia««iii«aa»!rrta!K«iS;.»j 


46 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  BEGIONS. 


w 


■  ■a 


t'^'Aj'; 


p%; 


The  vast  trackless  territory,  whore  news  of  the  last  importance  took  months  to 
spread,  broke  of  itself  into  several  sections.  The  union  established  at  the  outset 
had  been  nothing  more  than  a  league  against  the  common  enemy,  and  when  the 
Spaniard  disappeared,  how  many  national  quarrels  still  remained  to  be  settled  ! 
— hereditary  racial  feuds  between  Antis  and  Aymaras,  Araucanians  and  Quichuas, 
Charruas  and  Guarani,  with  which  were  perhaps  secretly  associated  the  rivalries 
of  presidents,  the  thirst  of  territorial  conquest.  The  old  Indian  names  of  cities 
have  been  gradually  substituted  for  the  Spanish  designations,  and  statues  of  van- 
quished heroes  of  the  land  have  been  set  up  in  the  public  places,  sure  indica- 
tions of  jealousies  still  smouldering  between  the  foreign  and  aboriginal  elements. 

After  the  political  emancipation,  the  ancient  traditions  of  a  government 
marked  by  a  strongly  centralised  administration  could  not  be  at  once  reconciled 
with  the  process  of  dismemberment  taking  place  spontaneously.  All  the  old 
capitals — Bogota,  Lima,  Buenos  Ayres — still  wanted  to  retain  their  jurisdiction 
over  remote  provinces,  and  in  the  ensuing  struggles  the  alternating  fortunes  of 
the  battlefield  gave  the  ascendency  now  to  one,  now  to  another  of  the  rival 
factions.  The  long  and  ruthless  War  of  Independence,  which  covered  the  richest 
lands  of  South  America  with  ruins,  had  also  accustomed  the  eye  to  scenes  of  blood- 
shed and  hardened  the  heart  to  the  most  savage  atrocities. 

The  military  enthusiasm  stimulated  by  victory  had  also  surrounded  all  the 
successful  leaders  with  devoted  adherents.  Every  ambitious  captain  was  thus 
enabled  to  raise  bands  of  armed  followers  to  plunder  a  province,  or,  if  the  chances 
were  favourable,  to  conquer  a  presidency.  The  love  of  strife  entered  into  the 
marrow  of  the  bone,  and  whole  communities  were  found  living  in  a  chronic  state 
of  warfare.  Social  disorganisation  was  even  promoted  by  the  very  abundance  of 
material  resources.  Nothing  was  easier  than  to  support  an  army  of  partisans  on 
a  conquered  territory  without  any  pay  beyond  the  hope  of  pillage.  Yet,  although 
the  South  Americans  have,  so  to  say,  passed  their  lives  under  fire,  they  have  none 
the  less  made  great  strides  in  advance.  The  land  has  been  gradually  re-settled, 
the  soil  brought  under  cultivation,  the  local  resources  developed,  while  the  sub- 
stratum of  the  population  has  everywhere  tended  instinctively  and  incessantly 
towards  national  unity. 

Communications. 

Nevertheless  the  South  American  continent  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  yet 
acquired  that  elementary  unity  by  which  it  might  hope  to  become  a  common 
fatherland  for  its  diverse  inhabitants.  The  means  of  transport  between  north 
and  south,  between  east  and  west,  are  still  so  difficult  that  they  are  little  used, 
except  by  daring  travellers.  The  seaboard  continues  to  be  by  far  the  most 
importiint  region  in  respect  of  population,  agriculture,  and  trade.  Here  ore 
grouped  nearly  all  the  large  cities,  here  is  centred  all  commercial  life. 
Meanwhile  the  inland  regions  remain  comparatively  stagnant,  the  growth  of 
population  being  necessarily  extremely  slow  in  the  sterile  southern  district  of 
Patagonia,  and  in  the  tropical  Amazons  basin  too  exuberant  to  attract  settlers. 


tl 
w 
A 
it 
its 

ye 

re( 
up 
th« 


m 


".'- fWM^.*.- 1 .^.'"^ IfT-jlV.* A--"?'-,' '■*  " •' •\" ' 


COMMUNICATIONS. 


47 


yet 
imon 
lorth 
lused, 
most 
|e  are 
life. 
h.  of 
tct  of 
Irs. 


From  Bogota  to  Santiago  of  Chili,  no  one  ever  dreams  of  taking  the  direct 
route  by  the  xipland  Andes  valleys.  Travellers  have  to  turn  first  north  to  take 
ship  for  Colon,  then  cross  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  and  set  sail  on  the  broad 
Pacific  in  order  to  reach  Chili,  and  so  ultimately  arrive  at  their  destination.  So 
also  an  inhabitant  of  Ecuador  wishing  to  visit  east  Brazil  will  not  follow  the 
great  watercourse  which  ho  sees  flowing  at  his  feet  and  descending  straight  to  the 
Atlantic.  He  finds  it  more  convenient  to  circumnavigate  the  continent  either  by 
the  northern  route  by  the  Caribbean  Sea,  or  by  the  south  round  Cape  Horn  or 
through  Magellan  Strait.  To  get  from  one  point  to  another  in  South  America 
many  travellers  save  time  and  money  by  first  crossing  the  Atlantic  to  Europe. 
The  Brazilian  proceeding  to  Colombia  will  gladly  make  Paris  the  chief  stage  on 
his  roundabout  voj'age. 

None  of  the  unavoidable  land  journeys  from  the  periphery  to  the  central 
provinces  can  be  called  easy  except  those  across  the  contracted  southern  extremity 
of  the  continent  between  Valparaiso  and  Buenos  Ayres.  Everywhere  else  the 
goal  can  be  reached  only  at  the  cost  of  great  hardships  and  even  dangers,  and 
with  the  loss  of  much  time — weeks,  or  even  months.  Certain  Brazilian  and  east 
Bolivian  cities,  although  situated  in  civilised  lands,  are  as  inaccessible  as  many 
wild  regions  in  Central  Africa  and  Asia.  The  trip  round  the  globe  has  become 
much  easier  than  the  journey  from  plain  to  plain  across  the  parallel  ranges  of  the 
Cordilleras. 

The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Domains. 

The  natural  dividing  zone  between  the  eastern  and  western  sections  of  South 
America  is  indicated  by  the  space  almost  exclusively  occupied  by  aboriginal 
tribes,  which  is  disposed  in  the  direction  from  north  to  south  along  the  foot  of 
the  Andes  between  the  Orinoco  and  Parana  affluents.  This  zone  of  separation 
between  the  regions  inhabited  by  civilised  man  may  also  be  regarded  in  a  general 
way  as  the  parting-line  between  Spanish  and  Portuguese  America.  The  two  un- 
equal sections  of  the  continent  present  a  contrast  in  their  distinctive  features, 
which  is  all  the  more  striking  that  the  respective  regions  actually  settled  are  still 
more  remote,  and  have,  so  to  say,  no  present  points  of  contact. 

In  fact,  to  the  existence  of  this  intermediate  neutral  zone  must  be  attributed 
the  ease  with  which  the  Portuguese  element  has  been  able  to  expand  westwards 
without  encountering  any  serious  obstacle  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards.  When 
Alexander  VI.,  "  slicing  the  world  in  two  like  an  apple  "  (Oscar  Peschel),  shared 
it  between  the  two  conquering  powers,  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  latter  state  found 
itself  endowed  with  a  mere  fragment  of  the  present  Brazil.  But  the  very  next 
year  (1494)  the  Treaty  of  Tordesillas  assigned  it  a  much  larger  slice  of  the 
recently  discovered  continent.  Even  this  frontier,  however,  was  soon  encroached 
upon  by  Brazilian  adventurers,  and  especially  by  the  intrepid  "  Paulistas,"  that  is, 
the  half-castes  of  the  province  of  Sao  Paulo,  dwelling  near  the  conventional 
parting-line.  Such  a  fi'ontier  could,  in  fact,  have  been  maintained  only  by  a 
military  cordon  to  defend  it  from  encroachments.     But  at  that  time  the  Spanish 


1 


■i-i 


■i''f^•^r-       -''   --5^-c.'j1h!v-    *j:-,W»«ia'Ti*, 


4S 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


settlors,  und  even  the  missionaries,  had  crossed  the  crests  of  the  Cordilleras  only 
at  u  very  few  points,  und  could  not  dreura  of  preventing  the  invasion  of  a  territory 
of  which  they  hud  no  knowledge.     Thus  it  was  that  Brazil,  steadily  moving  west- 


Fig.    Id.— OoMTINBMrAL  FaBTU«U-LiMB8  BKTWKBN  THK  SpAjriBB  XSD  FoBTUOVKliX  DOMAINS. 

Scale  1  :  60,000,000. 


'^i.:- 
§:■' 


Foreign  poBsesMons. 


Braiil.  Spanish  republios. 

___i_^  1.240  MileB. 


wards,  gradually  absorbed  the  whole  of  the  natural  region  comprising  the  eastern 
foothills  and  the  great  wooded  plains  of  the  interior. 

Occupying  distinct  geographical  domains,  Brazil  and  the  Andean  and  Argen- 
tine republics  have  been  historically  developed  on  faintly  parallel  lines.  Their 
populations,  differing  in  speech  as  well  as  in  their  traditions  and  usages,  have  but 
a  feeble  sentiment  of  a  common  solidarity.     Nevertheless,  recent  events,  which 


Lil 
titl 
in  I 

tir 


t>0jmi>"a'}0f)i'>in* 


ijini  iiuiyi.i'.i  >i>|^ip«Jii"  '  >  1 .1  'f 


SPANISH  AND  POllTUGUESE  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


40 


have  replaced  the  imperial  system  in  Bruzil  by  ii  foderul  republic  analogous  to 
that  of  several  Hispano-American  states,  will  huvo  tbo  inevitable  consequence  of 
bringing  the  two  groups  of  Latin  populations  into  cloeor  contact,  08j)ecially  in  the 


FiK-  m.-ETumoAi.  Divisions  ok  South  Amkbioa  in  1893 
Seal*  1  :  SH.UOO.onO 


Spaniacds  pure    Portaipiese  pure 
and  mixed.  and  mixed. 


FieDob. 


Engliih  fuid 
AngUciied. 


Datoh. 


t,S40T   iM. 


Blaoks        Blarkn  and  Hnlat- 
and  MoJattoM.  toe*  in  majority. 


Item 

jen- 
Cheir 
but 
Jhich 


La  Plata  basin,  where  Brazil  is  conterminous  with  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  and  Argen- 
tina, Here  a  levelling  process  in  social  respects,  and  even  in  speech,  is  already 
in  progress  between  the  neighbouring  populations. 

But,  despite  all  contrasts,  South  America  remains  as  a  whole  the  Latin  con- 
tinent in  a  pre-eminent  sense.      With  the  exception  o£  Trinidad  and  Tobago, 


80 


SOUTH  AMERICA—THE  ANDE8  REGIONS. 


i 


CuriH.'iio  and  noij^bbnurinp  islota,  nritish  and  Dutch  OuianiiH,  und  tho  Falkland 
archi[)olug(),  tlu-  wliole  tonitory  belongs  to  peoples  of  lloinunco  cpcoL-h,  while  tlio 
largest  stream  of  innn:gruiil8  directed  to  this  rejjion  are  Italians,  the  most  direct 
heirs  of  lloman  cultute.  Thus  the  ruling  race  iu  this  part  of  the  world  presents 
a  sort  of  balance,  in  its  different  character  and  natural  genius,  to  tho  Anglo- 
Saxons  (Unninant  in  North  America  from  Labrador  to  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Americans,  yielding  to  tho  influences  of  French 
culture,  and  looking  towards  I'aris  as  towards  a  metropolis,  reflect  P'rench  ideas 
in  their  literature,  their  fashions,  and  pastimes.  Till  recently  the  tie  between  tho 
old  Spanish  colonies  and  the  mother  country  had  l)een  almost  completely  severed 
in  consequence  of  the  rancour  engendered  by  the  War  of  Independence.  Now, 
however,  it  has  been  again  strengthened,  thanks  to  their  common  origin  id 
language  ;  thanks  also  to  the  increasing  tide  of  immigration,  in  which  the  Basque 
element  has  taken  a  large  jjart. 

In  IJrazil  active  relations  have  always  been  maintained  wil'i  the  old  sovereign 
state,  Portugal,  having  never  been  interrupted  by  any  war.  From  Oporto  and 
liisbon  crowds  of  Portuguese  immigrants  take  passage  for  l^ahia  and  Rio  do 
Janeiro,  although  in  recent  years  they  have  been  outnumbered  by  settlers  from 
the  Italian  peninsula. 

FoRKiGN  Relations. — Railway  Projixts. 

The  share  of  Spain  in  the  foreign  trade  of  her  old  American  colonies  is  rela- 
tively sliglit,  far  inferior  to  that  of  other  nations,  such  as  Great  IJritain,  France, 
Gern^any,  and  the  United  States.  On  tho  Pacific  seaboard  the  English,  formerly 
excluded  from  all  right  of  intercourse  with  the  Spanish  main,  have  now  more 
than  one  half  of  all  the  exchanges.  Hence,  so  far  as  regards  its  foreign  trade, 
South  America  cannot  be  said  to  have  preserved  its  character  of  a  Latin  continent. 
The  settlers  come  from  the  Europe  of  Romance  speech,  while  the  merchandise  is 
for  the  most  part  imported  from  the  English-speaking  world.  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States.  These  relations  will  probably  continue  until  such  time  as  the 
local  industries  may  enable  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  republics  to  become 
independent  of  foreign  manufacturers,  or  at  least  to  give  the  first  place  to  the 
inland  trade  between  the  conterminous  states. 

But  were  the  projects  of  certain  United  States  politicians  to  be  realised,  Latin 
Europe  and  even  England  would  be  completely  excluded  from  all  commercial  deal- 
ings with  tho  southern  division  of  the  New  World.  A  skilfully  arranged 
custom-house  league,  analogous  to  the  German  Zollverein,  would  place  the  con- 
sumers of  South  America  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  producers  of  North 
America.  With  a  view  to  developing  these  plans,  the  United  States  traders,  sup- 
ported by  a  "  bureau  "  of  the  American  republics  installed  at  Washington,  have 
already  organised  numerous  lines  of  steamers  to  ply  regularly  between  New  York, 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  San  Francisco,  and  all  the  more  important  points 
along  the  South  American  seaboard.  New  lines  are  yearly  established,  and  at 
the  Pan-American  Congress  of  1889  the  delegates  of  the  Soiithern  republics  were 


HHMW  **■*- 


F 


'.'I    Hil.<-,mipr|li'lKlyi;»n».i 


RAir.WAY  PIJOJEOTS.  gj 

awurod  thut  tho  cornmuni..uti.,n  between  North  and  South  would  «oon  become  still 
more  frequent  luul  rupid. 

Nor  ifl  this  ull :  although  the  sinuous  form  of  the  Central  American  isthmuses 
their  obhquo  disposition  to  the  meridian,  and  the  easy  communieations  by  water 

Fig.  17.  -Zonks  or  Distanoks  bbtwkk.s  London  or  Pabh  and  South  Akicbioa. 

Haile  1  :  60,(I0(»,(J00. 


50* 


100° 


Weat  op  Greenwirh 


20° 


E3 

16  Days. 


DistanceH  by  time. 


16to2i) 
Bays. 


20  to  20 
Days. 


Days'"  fM*';^"'  ''M"°»'» 

Days.  2  Months.        and  upwards. 


Regular  st«am  service.        Kailwaya.  Proje'oteu  And'ea'n  Une. 

■ 1,240  Miles. 


along  both  shores  render  absolutely  useless  a  longitudinal  railway  between  the 
volcanic  plateaux  of  auatemala  and  the  Colombian  forests  of  the  Atrato  valley,  the 
United  States  Government  has  given  countenance  to  the  project  of  such  a  trunk 


,.    ■mn^mviit'W'!""'.'-  '' 


sa 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  IIEOIONS. 


s 


line,  as  boiiig  of  tho  first  iinportunco  for  connecting  in  a  single  system  the 
innuinoruble  railrouds  of  North  America  with  tho  few  that  huve  liitherto  been  con- 
strtictod  in  the  southern  continent.  In  CongroHs  a  chart  was  oven  exhibited 
showing  tracings  of  the  main  linos  wliieh  wore,  as  if  by  enchantment,  to  bring 
into  close  })roximity  tlie  groat  cities  of  tho  New  World  now  separated  by  journeys 
of  weeks  or  months.  But  since  then  little  has  been  heard  of  those  grand  schemes, 
although  partial  siirveys  have  been  made  of  some  of  the  sections. 

According  to  these  tracings,  the  first  section  of  the  southern  trunk  line  would 
ascend  the  Cauea  valley  to  Popiiyan,  and  run  thence  to  Quito  and  Cuenca,  and  so 
on  through  the  Upper  Amazons  valley  to  tho  Cerro  do  Pasco.  From  this  point 
the  route  is  contiinied  towards  Cuzco,  descending  to  Jujuy  after  skirting  tho 
banks  of  Lake  Titioaca  and  its  emissary. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  this  part  of  the  project  will  eventually  be  realised, 
unless,  indeed,  the  value  of  land  routes  as  means  of  communication  becomes 
suddenly  mininiised  by  some  perfected  scheme  of  navigation  through  the  aerial 
spaces.  Peru  and  Chili  already  possess  some  completed  railways,  forming  impor- 
tant links  in  the  future  longitudinal  line  along  the  Pacific  seaboard.  From  Rio 
do  Janeiro  and  IJuenos  Ayres,  also,  dozens  of  branches  are  already  diverging  in 
the  direction  of  those  which  are  one  day  to  descend  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Andes  towards  the  Atlantic. 

Tho  Cordillera  skirting  the  Pacific  will  serve  to  indicate  the  route  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  great  inter-continental  trunk  line,  for  all  tho  chief  cities  are  situated 
along  its  base,  in  its  longitudinal  valleys,  and  on  its  plateaux.  Tho  maritime 
routes  on  the  Pacific  side  are  olso  disposed  in  the  direction  of  the  meridian  along 
the  coast  of  South  America,  and  parallel  with  the  Andes.  Except  under  the  lati- 
tudes of  Panama  and  of  Magellan  Strait,  the  boundless  waste  of  waters  stretching 
from  the  Andean  region  westwards  to  Australasia  is  rarely  traversed  by  naviga- 
tors.     None  of  the  oceanic  regions  within  the  temperate  zones  are  more  desolate. 


SooiAi.  CoNniTioN. — Material  Progress. — Prospects. 

Amongst  diplomatists  and  politicians  it  was  long  customary  to  affect  an  air  of 
contempt  or  of  hopelessness  in  speaking  of  the  Ilispano-American  republics  ;  and 
this  attitude  seemed  justified  by  the  language  of  those  South  Americans  them- 
selves whom  the  vicissitudes  of  party  politics  had  deprived  of  power  and  sent  into 
exile.  Having  lost  their  fortunes  or  their  prestige,  they  fancied  that  the  country 
itself  was  lost.  Even  Bolivar,  who  had  nevertheless  grasped  the  highest  honours 
before  experiencing  the  ignominy  of  defeat,  was  said  to  be  one  of  those  who  des- 
paired of  the  fatherland,  and  reference  has  often  been  made  to  the  words  uttered 
by  him  on  his  dying  bed  :  "  Those  who  serve  the  revolution  plough  the  deep." 

Nevertheless,  if  the  present  material  and  social  condition  of  the  South  Ameri- 
can populations  be  compared  with  what  it  was  during  the  last  years  of  the  colonial 
system,  it  will  be  found  that  during  the  six  or  seven  decades  of  political  indepen- 
dence great  progress  has  been  made  in  population,  wealth,  and  general  education. 
The  advancement  in  these  respects  has  been  relatively  far  greater  than  that  of 


^'t 


■  II  i!i'yiii  nwKt-jawf'^^r^^w— «»f~ 


MATKUIAL  rUOOHKSa. 


nn 


many  Kuroju'im  natioiiH  during  tho  iiaino  poriod,      Thci  ofKotiil   «tatistic8  (iro  on 
eloquent  roply  to  the  ponsinnNiH. 

Such   hiiH  been  the  progroHsivo  dovolopmont  of  tho  South  Amcricnn  popnla- 
tioDB  that  some  writers  have  already  uskcd  whctlior  the  SpuuiHh  tongue  may  not 


Pi|r.    18. — DbNWTT   of    POHULATIOK   IN   HoiITIl    ..HKKIOA. 
Smle  1  :  60,IKN),0(X). 


ito 


red 


3ri- 
lial 
leu- 
lon. 
of 


lubabitants  p<v  -xiuare  mile. 

D  S  ■  ■ 

Under  one.  1  to  20.  20  to  100.  100  and  upwards. 

Eaoli  square  represents  a  pop"litioii  of  25,000.  •  Cities  with  over  100,000  inhabitants. 

^^_^^.^^^^-— ~-.  1,240  Miles. 

one  day  have  some  prospect  of  success  in  its  rivalry  with  English  for  the  ascen- 
dency amongst  the  dominant  languages  of  the  world.  The  Spaniards  of  the  New 
World,  including  the  Mexicans,  the  Cubans,  the  inhabitants  of  Puerto  Kico  and  of 


" — gfefe-!U.-Jf*M'.' 


'.'t.-«''..wi«.'i^i'»i,".»n. 


5i 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


Central  America,  already  far  outnumber  those  of  the  mother  country.  The 
Brazilians  also  are  three  times  more  numerous  than  the  Portuguese,  and  with  every 
year  these  discrepancies  are  widened  to  the  advantage  of  the  Ibcro-Amcricans. 

At  present  there  are  in  Europe,  in  the  I'hilippines,  in  Africa  and  America 
altogether  about  02,000,000  who  speak  Spanish,  or,  at  least,  for  whom  Spanish 
is  the  language  of  culture.  If  the  present  rate  of  increase  be  maintained,  if 
all  the  peoples  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Hispano-Lusitanians  accept  this 
language,  the  communities  of  Spanish  speech  will  be  doubled  by  the  year  1920  ; 
that  is,  in  a  century  from  the  emancipation  of  the  Hispano- American  colonies, 
Spanish  and  Portuguese,  which  are  near  enough  to  be  regarded  as  mere  varieties 
of  the  same  language,  will  be  spoken  by  180,000,000  human  beings.* 

The  important  part  reserved  in  the  near  future  for  the  language  of  Cervantes 
will  also  be  justified,  for  the  Hispano-Americans  are  continually  contributing 
books  of  merit,  occasionally  even  works  of  permanent  value,  to  the  common  trea- 
sure of  their  literature.  They  have,  moreover,  the  consciousness  of  their  high 
destinies.  Years  have  passed  since  the  Argentine  poet,  Marraol,  sang  the  future 
glory  of  his  fellow-countrymen  :  "  Ah  !  that  I  might  be  born  again  in  those  days 
of  golden  dreams  !  That  it  might  be  given  to  me  to  listen  with  softened  spirit  to 
the  delightful  symphony  of  thy  future  poets  !  But  I  hear  them  already  !  Poor 
exile  that  I  now  am,  begging  a  country  and  freedom,  I  already  see  thy  future 
glory,  my  mother  I  " 

*  Gabriel  Carrasco,  JDolctin  de  la  Sociedad  de  Geograjia  de  Madrid,  1891. 


■urn .mj V *i,iii,»: »< III ' '■  J .11  jHHJji .ffjigw;'' 


CHAPTER  11. 

ANTILLES  OF  THE  VENEZUELAN  SEABOARD. 

I. — Tobago,  TRiNinAn,  Makgarita,  Lkkward  Group. 

HE  islands  lyiug  in  proximity  to  the  Venezuelan  coast,  and  usually 
grouped  with  the  Antilles,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  all  belonging 
to  tho  same  formation.  They  are,  in  fact,  of  diverse  origin,  and 
Tobago,  easternmost  of  the  series  and  geographically  harmonising 
best  with  the  West  Indies  proper,  is  yet  invisible  from  Grenada, 
the  nearest  member  of  that  system.  The  two  islands  are  also  separated  by  great 
oceanic  depths,  while  the  waters  shoal  gradually  from  Tobago  towards  the  mainland. 
This  island  is  also  disposed  south-west  and  north-east,  nearly  in  a  line  with  the 
heights  of  Trinidad. 

Trinidad  itself  is  obviously  a  mere  fragment  detached  from  the  continent  by  a 
disturbance  of  comparatively  recent  date  in  geological  time.  Margarita  and  neigh- 
bouring islets  constitute,  on  the  other  hand,  the  remains  of  a  mountain  range  which 
formerly  ran  parallel  with  the  Cumana  (Cariaco)  peninsula.  Lastly  Tortuga, 
'vuraij'ao  and  other  western  islands,  sometimes  collectively  called  the  "Leeward 
Group,"  like  the  southern  section  of  the  Antilles  proper,  form  another  chain  running 
with  great  regularity  for  a  distance  of  370  miles  in  the  same  direction  as  the  first 
ranges  of  the  Andes  system  in  Venezuela. 

Advantage  was  taken  by  the  European  naval  powers  of  the  position  of  these 
islands  at  some  distance  from  the  mainland  to  detach  most  of  them  from  the  Spanish 
main.  Of  the  larger  members  of  the  group,  Margarita  alone  remained  in  the 
possession  of  Spain,  and  thus  passed  to  the  State  of  Venezuela,  together  with  the 
valueless  islets  and  reefs  of  Coche,  Cubagua,  Tortuga,  Los  Testigos,  Blanquilla, 
Orchilla,  Los  Roques,  and  Birds  (Aves).  liut  Tobago  in  the  east  and  the  neigh- 
bouring Trinidad,  most  important  of  all,  were  annexed  to  the  vast  colonial  empire 
of  Great  Britain,  while  Curafao,  Buen  Ayre,  and  Aruba  in  the  extreme  west  still 
remain  Dutch  colonies. 


IT. — T(mAGO. 

Tobago,  as  it  is  called  by  its  English  masters,  projects  in  the  form  of  a  spear- 
head to  the  north-east  of  Trinidad.     Its  real  name  is  Tabaco,  a  word  which  recalls 


I  'flPI^^"^* 


«inMSmii)MHSS»«i^«^^  -.T.Uffiii^M.-' 


4r^3St. 


66 


SOUTH  AMEBICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


the  kind  of  pipe  in  use  at  the  time  of  Columbus  amongst  the  Carib  natives,  smokers 
of  cokiba  (tobacco).  These  Indians,  being  too  weak  to  resist  their  powerful  neigh- 
bours and  hereditary  foes,  the  Arawaks  of  Trinidad,  were  compelled,  soon  after 
the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  to  take  refuge  in  the  island  of  St.  Vincent. 
Here  they  became  amalgamated  with  the  older  indigenous  inhabitants,  constituting 
with  them  the  formidable  people  who  were  long  regarded  as  the  "  Carib  "  nation 
in  a  pre-eminent  sense. 

Tobago,  being  thus  completely  deserted,  was  open  to  free  European  settlement, 
and  in  1G32  some  traders  of  Flushing  seized  the  opportunity  to  found  the  colony 
of  Nieuwe  Wulcheren  in  the  island.  But  even  before  their  defensive  works  were 
completed,  the  Dutch  intruders  were  surprised  and  massacred,  or  carried  into 
bondage  by  the  Spanish  settlers  in  Trinidad,  guided  to  the  place  by  some  Arawak 
Indians. 

For  some  twenty  years  Tobago  again  became  a  solitude,  serving  only  as  a  tem- 
porary station  for  fishermen  and  passing  mariners.  A  seafarer  wrecked  on  this 
island,  uninhabited  at  the  time,  furnished  Defoe  with  the  chief  materials  for  the 
history  of  Robinson  Crusoe. 

But  the  Dutch  people  of  those  times  had  far-seeing  views  and  indomitable 
perseverance.  In  1654  the  brothers  Lampsins,  also  Flushing  traders,  founded  a 
new  factory  in  Tobago  ;  without,  however,  making  it  a  political  dependency  of  the 
home  government.  On  the  contrary,  they  gave  it  an  international  character,  con- 
stituting it  a  port  of  call  for  merchants  of  all  countries,  English,  French,  and  even 
Spaniards.  Soon  after  a  rival  establishment  was  formed  in  another  part  of  the 
island  by  some  settlers  from  Courland,  sent  thither  by  James  I.  of  England.  But 
the  Fichilingos  (Pichilingos),  as  the  Flushingers  were  called  by  the  Spaniards,  being 
wealthier  and  also  reinforced  by  fresh  arrivals,  got  the  better  of  the  Courlanders, 
and  made  themselves  masters  of  the  whole  island.  In  order  to  enjoy  their  little 
domain  in  greater  security,  the  head  of  the  Lampsins  family  declared  himself  a 
vassal  of  Louis  XIV.  in  16G2,  and  became  "  Baron  de  Tobago."  Yet  from  this 
very  suzerain  came  in  IG77  the  insane  order  to  destroy  the  Dutch  factories  where 
some  banished  French  Huguenots  occupied  a  populous  quarter,  highly  esteemed 
and  beloved  by  the  other  colonists. 

During  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  settlement  of  Tobago  continued 
to  moke  steady  progress ;  but  although  the  island  was  re;  irded  as  neutral,  it  ended 
by  becoming  English,  thanks  to  the  increasing  number  oi  British  settlers,  and  in 
1763  it  was  ceded  by  treaty  to  Great  '  ritain.  The  change  of  political  masters  had 
for  almost  immediate  consequence  a  corresponding  change  in  the  ownership  of  the 
land.  The  French  proprietors  were  replaced  by  the  later  immigrants,  the  bulk  of 
whom  were  "  thirty- six-months  Scotchmen,"  that  is  to  say,  colonists  transported 
to  the  island  by  the  planters  free  of  charge  in  return  for  thirty-six  months'  unpaid 
service.  By  a  formal  order  of  the  colonial  assembly  issued  in  1793,  the  French 
were  expelled  from  the  island,  and  their  property  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of  the 
great  landowners,*    Even  still,  despite  the  abolition  of  slavery,  in  consequence  of 

•  J.  J.  Dauxion  Lavaysee,  Voyage  aux  ties  d«  Trinidad,  dt  Tobapo,  ^c. 


jplftl^lljjtjft^ij^trjjl, . 


TOBAGO. 


67 


which  in  most  of  the  islands  the  land  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  negroes, 
Tobago  continues  to  be  divided  into  large  domains,  occupied  chiefly  with  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar. 

The  whole  island  may  be  regarded  as  forming  a  single  chain  of  heights  with 
a  total  area  of  les*-.  hrn  120  square  miles.  The  highest  eminence  has  a  height  of 
not  more  than  /i,}'S(^>  ieet,  or,  according  to  the  marine  charts,  a  little  over  1,900 
feet. 

In  consequence  of  its  oblique  position  to  the  meridian,  Tobago  lies  well  in 
the  track  of  the  trade  winds,  so  that  both  shores,  running  south-west  and  north- 
east, enjoy  the  same  purifying  marine  breezes.  Both  sides  also  have  the  advan- 
tage of  some  well-sheltered  natural  havens.     The  heights  of  the  central  district 


Fig.  19.— ToBAoo, 

Scale  1  :  470,000. 


Depths. 


S 


Oto?6 

lathoma 

So  to  SO 
Fathoms. 

60  Fathoms 
and  upward* 

.  6  Milea. 

rising  above  the  sugar  plantations  and  the  palm-groves  along  the  seashore  are 
still  forest-clad.  The  more  rocky  escarpments  are  overgrown  with  thickets  of  the 
"  pimento  "  myrtle,  which  yields  the  so-called  "  allspice,"  a  berry  of  a  highly 
agreeable  aroma.  The  berry  is  eagerly  devoured  by  swarms  of  parrokeets,  who 
form  a  sort  of  confederacy  warding  off  all  other  birds  from  the  thickets. 

Like  that  of  Trinidad  the  rich  native  flora  is  essentially  South  American, 
interspersed,  however,  with  numerous  plants  from  the  West  Indies.  Its  fauna 
also  includes  a  few  birds  not  found  in  the  neighbouring  island.  One  of  the  inlets 
on  the  coast  was  formerly  known  as  the  "  Idlers'  Cove,"  from  the  large  number  of 
turtles  that  resorted  to  the  place  to  deposit  their  eggs.    The  inhabitants  had  only 


^iiiitt. 


68 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEOIONS. 


K 


to  turn  these  animals  over  to  obtain  an  abundance  of  food.  But  here  as  elsewhere 
turtles  have  become  rare,  and  the  struggle  for  existence  haj  grown  as  intense  as 
iu  most  other  places. 

There  are  no  longer  any  full-blood  aborigines,  who,  according  to  Lavaysse, 
had  been  reduced  in  1803  to  three  families,  comprising  altogether  26  souls. 
At  present  the  great  bulk  of  the  population  consists  of  blacks  and  people  of  colour, 
settled  in  the  villages  and  on  the  plantations,  which  form  a  vast  belt  of  gardens 
round  the  whole  island.  In  1871  the  white  population  numbered  only  120  persons. 
Scarhoroiiyh,  the  capital,  lies  on  an  inlet  of  the  south-west  coast  facing  south- 
wards. Although  a  mere  hamlet,  it  is  the  centre  of  an  export  trade  which  in 
1891  exceeded  <£24,000,  and  which  before  the  fall  of  prices  in  the  sugar  market 
averaged  £80,000  a  vear. 

III. — Trinidad. 

The  Yere  of  the  natives,  re-named  Trinidad  by  Columbus  in  1498,  in  honour 
of  the  "  three  Persons  united  in  one  God,"  is  one  of  the  largest  islands  washed 
by  the  Caribbean  waters,  ranking  in  size  next  to  Puerto  Rico,  whose  almost  geo- 
metrical outlines  it  faintly  reproduces.  Like  Puerto  Rico  it  has  the  form  of  a 
rectangle,  which  is  compared  by  the  Spaniards  to  an  *'  oxhide  "  from  the  two 
peninsular  appendices  prolonging  the  north  and  south  coasts  in  the  direction  of  the 
mainland. 


Physical  Features. 

From  the  geological  point  of  view  Trinidad  is  a  fragment  of  the  Venezuelan 
region.  The  rim  of  rounded  crests  skirting  its  north  side  is  continued  on  the 
continent  by  the  Paria  range,  which  in  its  turn  reappears  beyond  the  Cumana 
Gulf  in  the  elevated  chain  separating  the  Caribbean  Sea  from  the  elevated  plains 
of  Caracas  and  Valencia.  In  the  island  and  on  the  mainland  the  formations  are 
everywhere  the  same,  plutonic  and  metamorphic  masses  of  a  highly  compact  argil- 
laceous schist,  whose  steeper  escarpments  face  seawards.  Despite  the  two  breaks 
in  the  chain,  at  the  Dragon's  Mouth  and  the  Gulf  of  Cumana,  the  axis  of  the 
system  maintains  its  regular  trend  from  Galera  Point  to  Puerto  Oabello,  a  total 
distance  of  about  500  miles,  inclining  but  slightly  from  a  line  parallel  with  the 
equator.  Beginning  at  the  easternmost  point  of  Trinidad  under  10°  50'  15" 
north  latitude,  the  coast  range  crosses  the  10th  degree  at  the  point  where  it  is 
deflected  south-westwards  to  merge  in  the  general  system  of  the  Andes  proper. 

The  break  which  occurs  in  the  coast  range  between  the  Gulf  of  Paria  and 
the  Caribbeiin  Sea  is,  moreover,  studded  with  islands  and  islets  representing  the 
crests  of  submerged  hills,  which  form  a  continuation  of  the  north-west  headland  of 
Trinidad.  The  opening  between  the  gulf  and  the  open  sea  is  thus  decomposed 
into  several  channels,  such  as  the  Boca  de  los  Monos,  the  Boca  de  los  Huevos,  the 
Boca  de  Navios  and  the  Boca  Grande.  In  this  inlet,  which  represents  the  com- 
bined erosive  action  of  the  marine  and  Orinoco  currents,  the  greatest  depth  in  the 
main  channel  is  about  150,  and  in  the  smaller  passages  100  fathoms,  while  the 


iBimmfr'^,v^if-mm^kJf>lgm'^0fi^nii9l^iJ^I^*^  


TEINIDAD. 


59 


coast  ranges  vary  in  mean  altitude  from  1,500  to  3,000  feet.  The  two  culiniuuting 
points,  Tucutcho  (Las  Ciievas),  in  the  middle  of  the  cordilleru,  and  the  Cerro  de 
Aripo  in  the  north-oast,  attain  the  respective  heights  of  .'J,  100  and  '»,f:44  feet.  The 
rugged  crags  of  the  Dragon's  Mouth  are  over  650  feet  high,  one  of  them  in  Mono 
("  Monkey  ")  Island  rising  to  1,000  feet.  But  even  on  the  steepest  slopes  strewn 
with  ruptured  blocks,  the  bare  rock  is  everywhere  concealed  by  a  leufj^  vegetation. 

South  of  the  chain  of  primitive  rocks  skirting  the  north  side  of  Trinidad  the 
plains  and  undulating  tracts  constituting  most  of  the  surface  belong  to  the  same 
cretaceous  horizon  as  those  facing  the  coast  range  along  the  Gulf  of  Cariaco,  as 
■wor  as  those  reappearing  west  of  the  Unare  to  the  south  of  the  Caracas  coast 
range.  The  uniformity  of  the  inland  plains  is  broken  only  by  Mount  Tamona, 
a  solitary  mass  1,028  feet  high,  and  mariners  plying  on  the  Gulf  of  Paria  guide 
their  course  by  the  crest  of  Mount  Naparima,  which  rises  590  feet  above  the  water 
near  the  town  of  San  Fernando. 

Lastly,  the  south  side  of  Trinidad,  which,  like  the  north,  affects  the  aspect  of  a 
coast  range,  consists  of  dunes  and  tertiary  rocks,  as  does  also  the  chain  of  heights 
which,  beyond  the  muddy  banks  deposited  by  the  Orinoco  and  neighbouring  streams, 
forms  the  northern  edge  of  the  llanos. 

The  south-western,  like  the  north-western,  peninsula  terminating  the  Trinidad 
quadrilateral  is  continued  towards  the  mainland  by  an  islet,  some  reefs  and  the 
Soldado  rock,  which  at  a  distance  resembles  a  sail,  and  which  is  enveloped  in  a 
cloud  of  countless  sea-fowl.  Thus  in  all  the  elements  constituting  its  framework 
Trinidad  is  essentially  a  part  of  the  mainland.  Even  the  shores  of  recent  forma- 
tion, by  which  its  surface  is  increasing,  are  of  continental  origin.  The  sands  and 
muds,  which  develop  a  convex  curve  on  the  east  side  washed  by  the  Atlantic,  have 
been  brought  down  by  the  currents  of  the  Amazons,  of  the  Guiana  rivers  and  the 
Orinoco.  The  channels  of  the  Serpent's  Mouth,  giving  access  to  the  Gulf  of  Paria 
along  the  south  side  of  the  island,  are  no  longer  deep  troughs  like  the  northern 
channels  of  the  Dragon's  Mouth.  They  have  already  been  partly  filled  in  by  the 
alluvial  matter  washed  down  with  the  Orinoco  current.  The  yearly  soundings 
show  constantly  varying  results.  Thus  the  east  passage  has  shoaled  from  8  to 
4  fathoms,  while  in  that  of  the  west  beyond  the  Soldado  reefs  the  line  every- 
where reveals  12  or  13  fathoms  ;  here  the  marine  bed  is  incessantly  scoured  by  a 
regular  current. 

Gfological  Changes, 

Trinidad  gives  undoubted  evidence  of  having  undergone  great  geological 
revolutions.  Erosions  have  taken  place  to  a  vast  extent,  as  shown  by  the  masses  of 
quartz,  containing  some  magnificent  rock  crystals,  which  are  met  on  the  plains,  in 
the  valleys,  and  on  the  hillsides.  These  are  evidently  the  remains  of  old  crystal- 
line rocks,  all  the  softer  parts  of  which  have  disappeared,  either  changed  to  alluvia 
or  carried  away  to  the  sea.  Great  beds  of  gravel  or  shingle  300  or  400  feet  thick 
are  seen  at  the  southern  entrance  of  all  the  valleys  along  the  northern  coast  range. 
In  a  more  northern  zone,   such,  for  instance,   as  Scandinavia,  moraines  would 


mmtMuittm 


uMmnunx!" 


""«dp« 


60 


SOUTH  AMERICA— TKE  ANDES  EEGIONS. 


certainly  bo  found  in  this  district.  Aa  it  is,  the  detritus  must  be  regarded  as  the 
dt'bris  of  cliffs  undermined  by  the  marine  waves  beating  against  the  foot  of  the 
hills  raised  by  successive  thrusts  above  sea-level.* 

The  central  districts  comprised  between  the  northern  pnd  southern  coast 
ranges  present  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea  extensive  expanses  which  were 
formerly  marine  inlets  ;  now  they  are  filled  to  a  great  depth  with  alluvial  matter 
formed  by  the  decomposition  of  mangroves  and  other  plants.  Possibly  to  the 
presence  of  this  fluvial  sediment  is  to  be  attributed  the  absence  of  continuous 
coralline  formations  on  the  coasts  of  Trinidad.  Here  and  there,  however,  there 
occur  a  few  coral  reefs,  fragments  of  which  are  strewn  on  the  beach  after  every 
storm.  The  gradual  subsidence  of  this  part  of  the  coast  is  placed  beyond  doubt 
by  the  numerous  dead  tree-stems  on  the  beach,  killed  by  the  surging  tide.f 

Reference  is  often  made  to  "  volcanoes  "  in  various  parts  of  the  island  ;  but 
there  exist  only  some  groups  of  "  mud  volcanoes,"  one  of  which,  towards  the 
centre  of  the  island,  rises  135  feet  above  a  morass  called  the  "  Lagon  Bouffe  "  by 
the  Creole  negroes.  Those  of  Cape  Icacos  at  the  south-west  extremity,  surrounded 
by  swamps  and  fringes  of  mangroves,  are  conic  hillocks,  some  mere  molehills, 
others  from  14  to  16  feet  high.  All  are  pierced  by  a  terminal  vent,  whence 
escape  periodical  ejections  of  a  whitish  substance  tasting  like  alum,  and  emitting 
an  odour  like  that  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  The  muddy  waters  bubbling  up  to 
the  surface  have  no  higher  temperature  than  that  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere, 
although  they  at  times  eject  shingle  and  lumps  of  sulphur  with  great  force. 
According  to  the  residents  the  Cape  Icacos  mud  volcanoes  utter  bellowings  every 
year  ab')ut  the  spring  equinox,  and  at  this  period  also  are  said  to  occur  the  erup- 
tions of  pebbles,  accompanied  by  the  uprooting  of  trees. 

An  old  map  indicates  in  the  Gulf  of  Paria  an  islet  which  was  said  to  have  made 
its  appearance  simultaneously  with  a  violent  earthquake  on  the  neighbouring 
mainland.  In  several  parts  of  the  south-western  peninsula  are  seen  beds  of 
porcellanite,  clays,  and  vitrified  sands  which  have  assumed  the  appearance  of 
jasper.  These  beds,  which  are  of  no  great  thickness,  and  which  occur  in  the 
midst  of  the  quicksands,  have  evidently  been  exposed  to  t^e  action  of  fire,  like 
the  slag  of  smelting  furnaces,  and  they  are  supposed  to  have  resulted  from  the 
burning  of  asphalts  or  lignites. 

This  part  of  the  coast  also  appears  to  be  in  process  of  subsidence  like  that 
of  the  east  side.  Thus  two  forces  acting  in  opposite  directions  are  continually 
modifying  the  contour-lines  of  the  island — that  of  the  currents  depositing  sedi- 
ment on  the  beach,  and  gravity  or  some  other  agent  causing  certain  parts  of  the 
coast  to  sink. 


The  Asphalt  Lake. 

In  the  same  south-western  peninsular  district  is  also  situated  the  "  marvel " 
of  the  island,  the  so-called  Brea,  or  Asphalt  Lake,  one  of  the  greatest  natural 

•  G.  P.  Wall  and  J.  O.  Sawking,  Beport  on  the  Oeolngy  of  Trinidad. 
t  Charles  Kingsley,  At  Last,  a  Chrittmat  in  tht  Wut  Indiet, 


.  Jiigmii.^^yiui  I 


■•■atjjJilSWifcw^ 


'ffgU^.-'^!iK^Jt^[i,.^.,l>,V'-;^!.j....i---ij 


< 

B 


■'.''m 


uv 


^■■■'"naj^ 


HIBIUMWII 


TRINIDAD. 


01 


I 


s 


B 


curiosities  in  the  world.  Tlio  basin,  which  occupies  rather  more  thun  100  acres  on 
a  slight  rising  ground  about  85  feet  above  Heu-level,  usually  presents  the  aspect  of 
an  exposed  coalpit ;  but  during  the  great  heats  the  surface  li(|nofie8  to  a  depth 
of  about  an  inch.  Even  before  the  contents  began  to  bo  worked  for  industrial 
purposes,  the  surface  underwent  frequent  modifications ;  islands  wore  formed 
and  rapidly  covered  with  agaves,  wild  pineapples  and  other  vegetable  growths; 
then  they  were  swallowed  uji  by  the  surging  flood  of  pitch,  to  reappear  on  the 
circumference  of  some  sluggish  eddy  in  the  viscous  substance. 

The  underground  forces  acting  on  the  asphalt  cause  it  to  rise  in  masses  of 
unequal  size,  rounded  off  like  huge  toadstools  and  separated  by  narrow  spaces 
filled  with  water  at  the  normal  temperature  of  the  surrounding  a'laosphere, 
in  which  fishes  disport  themselves.  The  visitor  may  walk  without  any  risk 
on  the  solid  asphalt  round  the  margin  of  these  channels,  although,  according 
to  the  report  of  numerous  travellers,  the  surface  yields  gently  under  the 
weight. 

Towards  the  centre  of  the  lake  the  bituminous  substance  is  continually  rising, 
mixed  with  sulphurous  gases,  and.  it  often  ejects  logs  of  wood,  branches  or  stems 
completely  transformed  by  the  saturating  matter.  The  wood  thus  cast  up  always 
presents  its  pointed  end  to  the  air,  so  as  at  times  to  resemble  rows  of  stakes. 
The  pitch,  which  is  very  impure  and  consequently  of  small  commercial  value, 
contains  from  about  one-fifth  to  cne-third  of  earthy  matter.  The  78,000  tons 
exported  in  1890  were  valued  at  a  little  over  £90,000. 

The  soil  of  the  cultivated  district  encircling  the  lake  is  also  charged  with 
asphalt,  yet  is  extremely  fertile,  yielding  the  best  and  finest  fruits  in  the  island. 
The  pineapples  especially  are  less  fibrous,  larger,  more  fragrant,  and  of  a  more 
golden  colour  than  elsewhere.  The  very  road  leading  from  the  lake  to  the 
neighbouring  port  of  La  Breu.  runs  through  a  bed  of  picch,  and  moves  slowly 
seaward:  like  a  bhick  glacier.  The  little  houses  erected  along  the  truck 
follow  the  same  onward  movement,  so  that  they  have  to  be  periodically  rebuilt. 
The  shore  also  is  fringed  with  bituminous  reefs,  and  some  800  yards  south 
of  the  headland  a  yawning  chasm  in  the  bed  of  the  sea  occasionally  dis- 
charges boiling  masses  of  petroleum, -which  rises  and  spreads  out  on  the  surface 
of  the  water.       '  .  ' 

:  Under  about  the  same  latitude,  but  in  Mayaro  Bay  on  the  east  side  of  the  island, 
there  occurs  another  submarine  vent,  whose  eruptions,  according  to  native  report, 
take  place  with  a  certain  regularity  in  the  months  of  March  and  June  every  year, 
and  are  accompanied  by  a  roar  as  of  thunder,  and  apparently  also  by  "  flames." 
It  is  at  all  events  certain  that  on  these  occasions  the  sea  casts  ashore  lumps  of 
hard,  black  and  shining  asphalt,  which  is  collected  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district.  So  long  ago  as  1805  it  was  manufactured  by  the  English  into  a  tar 
used  for  caulking  purposes.  According  to  Wall  and  Sawkins,  the  geologists  who 
have  most  carefully  studied  this  region,  the  asphalts  both  of  the  island  and  of  the 
neighbouring  mainland  are  derived  from  vegetable  remains  which,  under  temperate 
and  polar  climates,  would  assume  the  forms  of  turf  and  lignite. 


'  'fl 


"■'M 


.^;/Ai 


»»<a«aitei»j»t{i»L<uiwii«iil« 


'.;•;>•  ^ip.Wi'jf*- 


02 


SOUTH  AUEKICA-TIIE  ANDES  REOIONS. 


i 


■»tt 


Rivers — Ci.tmatr. 

TImnks  to  an  abundant  rainfall,  Trinidad  i8  watered  by  numornufi  streams 
wliicli  arc  navigable  by  small  cruft  for  a  considerable  distance  from  the  coast. 
The  (^aroni,  most  frequented  of  these  rivers,  bears  a  Carib  name,  which  recurs  in 
various  parts  of  the  neighbouring  continent.  It  flows  nearly  j)arallel  with  the 
north  coast  range,  from  which  it  receives  its  chief  affluents,  and  falls  into  the 
Oulf  of  Paria,  near  Port  of  Spain  ;  but  during  the  floods  a  considerable  portion  of 
its  waters  are  discharged  laterally  into  riverine  marshes.  TheOaroui  is  navigable 
by  boats  for  about  24  miles,  and  it  is  proposed  to  connect  this  waterway  with  the 
(Jropuche,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  island,  by  means  of  a  canal  cut  through  the 
slightly  elevated  central  waterparting. 

The  Guaracuaro,  which  falls  into  Naparima  Bay  on  the  south-west  coast, 
develops  a  course  symmetrical  with  that  of  the  Caroni,  while  the  Nuriva  (Mitan) 
and  Quataro  (Ortoir)  have  a  common  delta  towards  the  middle  of  the  east  coast  iu 
the  great  curve  extending  from  Galera  Point  to  Galiota  I'oiut.  Between  the  two 
mouths  runs  a  channel  protected  from  the  surf  by  a  fringe  of  mangroves.  Nume- 
rous lagoons,  the  "  lagons  "  of  the  French  Creoles,  skirt  the  low-lying  coast  on 
both  sides  of  the  delta. 

Lying  entirelj'^  in  the  truck  of  the  trade  winds,  and  being  practically  a  part  of 
the  mainland,  Trinidad  escapes  from  the  thousand  vicissitudes  of  climate  to  which 
the  Antilles  proper  are  exposed.  The  seasons  follow  in  the  normal  sequence,  and 
during  the  rcraiio  ("  spring  ")  or  dry  season,  lasting  from  November  to  the  end  of 
April,  scarcely  a  drop  of  rain  ever  falls.  The  moisture  collected  on  the  surface  is 
derived  mainly  from  the  heavy  dews.  But  in  the  wet  season,  from  May  to 
October,  storms  are  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  They  are  accompanied  by  sharp, 
heavy  showers,  coming  on  suddenly,  especially  in  the  afternoon,  and  never  at 
night  except  a  short  time  before  dawn.  Neither  Trinidad  nor  its  neighbour, 
Tobago,  is  ever  visited  by  those  terrific  hurricanes  by  which  Grenada,  some  80 
miles  to  the  north-west,  is  frequently  wasted. 

Flora — Fauna. 

As  in  its  geological  structure  and  climate,  Trinidad  contrasts  also  with  the 
Antilles  proper  in  its  flora  and  fauna.  In  their  natural  history  both  Trinidad 
and  Tobago  are  mere  dependencies  of  the  South  American  continent.  The  former 
presen^^s  in  its  central  part  extensive  tracts  covered  exclusively  with  grasses  and 
plants  of  low  growth  in  every  respect  similar  to  those  of  the  Venezuelan  llanos. 
Thr"  are  savannas  analogous  to  those  traversed  by  the  Orinoco  and  its  affluents, 
and  in  the  central  parts  of  the  island  geologists,  in  fact,  suspect  the  former 
presence  of  a  great  fluvial  current. 

But  the  treeless  spaces  are  everywhere  encircled  by  dense  tropical  woodlands, 
where  flourish,  in  the  closest  proximity,  nearly  all  the  innumerable  species  belong- 
ing to  the  forests  of  Guiuna.  These  multitudes  of  trees,  lianas,  and  parasites  of  all 
kinds  are  amply  fed  by  the  yearly  rainfall,  which  is  estimated  at  nearly  80  inches,^'" 

•  Mean  temperatiire  of  Port  of  Spain,  77°  Fahr.    Bainf all  (mean  of  twenty-five  years),  67  inches. 


U*t 


^-l^^:r 


""IV"]— *•"  --■' 


TRIN'IDAD. 


M 


liotunixta  htivo  nut  yot  cxlmuntod  tho  study  of  the  iiiHiiliir  floni,  which  contiiins 
no  loss  than  140  specios  of  trocs  with  bark  |)088cs.siiiij;'  mt'dicinul  uiul  ospcciully 
fobrifuj^ul  proportios ;  tiinbor  and  cabiiiot-woodH  are  rockoned  by  tho  hundredH, 
nearly  all  of  South  Amoriciin  origin,  althou^rh  soiuo  West  ludiuii  aud  even 
African  forms  occur.  Such  is  the  rhi//)M(ili»t  conni/i/id,  a  cactus  of  Angolan  origin, 
and  tho  only  member  of  this  family  found  in  tho  Old  World.  Amongst  the 
forest  giants  special  veneration  is  paid  to  the  coiba  (eriodi'iidroii  anfinctuosum), 
which  the  negroos  gouerally  rofuse  to  fell,  regarding  it  as  a  magic  tree.     Anyone 


PI(J.  '20.— Vow  TAXJIN 

At  Saint  Jamrs,  Port  or  Si-ain,  Tbinidad. 

'  o       ')'■                           -  .          '      .    ■:'                              '                   ..•;;•.        11 

\'  '■-.■. .    ■  '  '-f.'-    ....-•■  •.•."\,i- 

^i=:,,-?^^#,..;::.     Miv 

.„,;"*►■  ■■•■::■      ....:5^^^;f:  „ 

IHwWilKllicT/^lHl^nHnKBill^^^^AJ^H^^Hl 

-  ■''  '  V  .    1 

1                                    ;-,^v    ^    _ 

1                 t/'P  *  ■    , 

'■■■■'■       ,     ■         (        '      j.     ■•■' 

-   **-    ;;   ?     uH  4.      ..  .,.;S..             ..  .  .    rAi-            ,/      ..-ti    . .   -. 

'  \    '■-•  :V^:'Vi>v;^.-7f 

■              ,           ■ ; , ,     ^ 

bold  enough  to  apply  the  axe  to  its  roots  without  firBt  propitiating  it  with  a  bottle 
of  rum,  would  inevitably  die  within  a  year,  and  other  calamities  would  overtake 
those  throwing  stones  at  it, 

The  palm  family  is  represented  by  numerous  species,  amongst  others  the 
oreoj/od-ff,  some  of  whose  stems  exceed  150  feet  in  height;  the  timit  {manicaria), 
whose  leaves  are  used  for  thatching  cabins ;  the  maiiricarea  acnleata,  the 
desmoncus,  and  others,  armed  with  formidnble  thorns.  According  to  a  local 
tradition,  a  vessel  freighted  with  coconuts  from  an  island  in  the  Orinoco  delta 
was  shipwrecked  in   1730  on  the  east  coast  of  Trinidad,  where  the  nuts  washed 


"  •  '-iTi«fiiiiiini«Hi»rlill|-|iiiini|iiiiiiiiia'i 


r»Wi»miliii ,  I  i.iiiiAiiiiMmr  I  im  i8<ii^iii»  I'omiji  MiaiiiirrMi^i,.  i»iiiaMii!ttj»<aiiirjbw)»i\M». 


64 


BOUTII  AMKIIICA-TII1-:  ANDKS  RliOIONS. 


aHhoro  took  rnot  in  fiivniira1)I«  Noil.  Hiirti  is  Raid  to  bo  the  origin  of  tho  Cucnl,  a 
narrow  belt  of  Niiporl*  couoaut-puliiiH,  which  dovolopH  a  croscoiit  ah)iig  tho  coast 
bt'lweon  ManciMiillior  and  Guutaro  Poinln.  Tho  travollor  puHsing  from  tho  virfr'''i 
fori'RtH of  tho  interior  into  tho  CocMd  mi^^lit  fancy  ho  had  boon  Huddenly  li-v  ,- 
ported,  as  if  by  inagio,  from  tho  West  ludiua  to  tho  Laccadives,  Muldivus,  or  atr  ' 
ul'ior  Kast  Indian  ^roup. 

iScneath  thono  avoniicH  of  bi-ndinj^  aml)er-colouro  1  atoms  tho  boach  is  strewn 
with  the  triiiikH,  bronches,  and  louthory  fruits  of  the  tiniit,  brought  by  tho  marine 
current  from  the  ()rinf)Co  delta.  The  west  coast,  also,  near  J'ort  of  Spaiu  and  San 
Fernando,  has  been  ])lanted  with  tho  coconut-palm,  which  has  the  advantage  of 
draining  tho  soil.  Hut  while  exotics  aro  thus  introduced,  tho  primitive  woodlands 
aro  recklesnly  destroyed,  and  extensive  tracts  huvo  been  already  shorn  of  their 
leafy  adornments.  Ilonco  tho  rivers  also  huvo  become  mote  irregular  in  their 
discharge,  and  less  easily  navigated. 

Like  the  flora,  the  insular  fauna  is  also  mainly  South  American,  and  of  equally 
varied  character.  According  to  the  naturalist  Leotaud,  Trinidad  possesses  as  many 
as  three-fourths  of  the  number  of  bird-forms  found  in  all  Kuropo.  Unfortunately 
the  blacks,  all  now  provided  with  fowling-pieco'*,  have  already  depopulated  the 
greater  part  of  tho  woodlands.  Humming-birds,  formerly  very  numerous,  have  nearly 
disappeared,  shot  in  myriads  1,0  supply  tho  demands  of  European  fashion ;  us  many 
as  15,000  a  week  were  at  one  time  forwarded  by  a  single  dealer.  On  the  other 
hand,  tho  farmyards  abound  with  poultry,  no  climate  apparently  suiting  the  galli- 
naceous family  better  tlian  that  of  Trinidad. 

Amongst  the  extremely  varied  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  waters  several 
besides  the  shark  are  dangerous  to  bathers.  Such  is  the  hi/Urovion,  which, 
though  no  bigger  than  the  sardiiie,  rushes  in  such  numbers  and  with  such 
ferocity  on  its  prey  that  instant  flight  alone  can  save  swimmers  from  being 
torn  to  pieces  alive.  Other  species,  which  elsewhere  serve  us  food  for  the  coast 
peoples,  are  highly  poisonous  in  the  Trinidad  waters.  One  of  these,  a  species  of 
shad  {clnpra  afosa),  is  said  to  be  so  fatal  that  people  have  been  known  to  be 
struck  dead,  as  if  by  a  stroke  of  lightning,  before  swallowing  a  whole  mouthful.* 
One  deni/en  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria  emits  musical  notes,  or  bu/zing  sounds,  like 
the  maigres  {scitpua  aquila)  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Trinidad  was  colonised  by  quadrupeds  from  the  mainland  before  the  opening 
of  the  Serpent's  Mouth,  which  is  of  relatively  recent  origin.  There  are  three 
species  of  simians,  some  small  felines,  a  deer  of  extremely  gentle  disposition, 
and  several  other  mammals.  Kingsley  tells  us  that  epidemics  of  small-pox 
and  cholera  have  been  as  fatal  to  the  monkevs  as  to  man  himself. 


Inhabitants. 

The  only  result  of  the  first  Spanish  settlement,  dating  from  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  to  hasten  the  extormination  of  the  aborigines.  The 
Jayos  (Yaos)   and    Nepnyos,   members  of    the  Arawak  or  Curib   families,   were 

•  Ch.  Kingsley,  <tp.  eit. 


■<.^?s^m 


^^l■^^|p■^l>^^^■■il.l■^lm^,■^||l■|^ 


,« ■>!»» 


HiiiH  ii)  i|  |«)ii  minimi. !■  r/i  I  m  ui|iii  m  i  y 


TiUNIDAI). 


ee 


formerly  numcruua;  but  they  wore  Iiuntud  down  and  aiiippod  us  alaven  to 
KNpunolu  and  ottu'r  iHliindH,  to  work  in  ttui  iniuea  or  on  the  ^/liiiitutionH.  Boon 
the  gretiter  purt  of  Triiiidud  wiih  chungod  to  u  a«)litude,  till  the  aborigiium  having 
poriahcd,  except  u  ft<w  Hinall  ^roupn  in  tho  uplund  vtillt>yN  of  the  north. 
In  l7H'<i,  two  hundred  ycurH  uftor  thu  Conquoat,  u  ceuaua  of  the  inhiiid  returned 
only  2,iy>\2  Indiuna,  (ind  these  hud  been  reduced  to  1, 407  by  tho  year  I  HOT.  At 
present  u  few  faniilies  of  these  peuceful  uborigini's  atill  survive  in  tho  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ariinu,  ut  tho  foot  of  the  mountiiina,  where  they  eke  out  a  wretched 
exiatcnce  by  making  baskets  of  reeds  or  foliage,  und  manufacturing  other  small 
urticles.  Even  these  are  half-breeds  crossed  with  Spaniards,  and  especially  with 
runaway  negroes.  Till  recently  somo  naked  Indians  arrived  once  a  year  from 
tho  Orinoco  delta,  landed  silently  at  San  Fernando,  and  donning  the  slight  cos- 
tume required  by  the  police  regulations,  passed  through  the  town  to  niuko  their 
annual  collection  of  fruits  and  root*  in  the  neighbouring  forests.  Then  they 
returned  us  silently  us  when  they  arrived,  re-emburked,  and  rapidly  disappeared, 
puddling  their  eunoes  across  the  gulf  towurds  the  mainland. 

The  first  Spanish  settlers  having  been  nearly  exterminated  by  tho  Knglish, 
French,  Dutch,  and  Pichilingue  corsairs,  the  island  remained  for  about  two 
centuries  unoccupied,  except  by  a  few  planters,  who  bad  established  themselves 
on  the  west  coast.  In  1783  there  were  only  120  whites,  and  COo  black  slaves 
or  freedmen ;  including  the  Indians  the  whole  population  fell  short  of  3,000 
souls.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  adventurer,  Iloume  de  Saint- Laurent,  a 
native  of  Grenada,  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  Madrid  Government 
the  repeol  of  the  laws  interdicting  all  foreigners  from  entering  the  Spanish 
possessions.  Roman  Catholica  were  even  invited  to  settle  in  the  island,  the 
Government  undertaking  to  protect  them  for  five  years  against  prosecution 
for  ar  J  debts  previously  contracted.  Roume  de  Saint-Laurent  hastened  forth- 
with to  engage  colonists  in  France  and  in  the  Antilles,  and  six  years  after 
the  issue  of  the  edict  from  Madrid  the  colony  had  already  2,150  whites  and 
nearly  4,500  free  people  of  colour,  who  had  brought  with  them  over  10,000 
slaves. 

Breaking  with  the  national  traditions  of  intolerance.  Governor  Chacon  pre- 
vented the  introduction  of  the  Inquisition,  and  interdicted  the  establishment  of 
monasteries.  No  settler  was  molested  for  his  religious  or  philosophic  opinions, 
and  during  the  troubles  at  the  close  of  the  century  the  planters  from  the  French 
islands  were  able  to  take  refuge  without  let  or  hindrance  in  the  Spanish  colony. 
In  1787  Picot  de  Lap^rouse  erected  the  first  sugar  refinery,  and  ten  years  later 
there  had  sprung  up  159  others,  besides  300  "  habitations,"  where  coffee,  cotton, 
and  cacao  were  cultivated.  ^ - 

Since  that  time  Trinidad  has  steadily  increased  in  population  and  wealth,  even 
during  the  wars  which  resulted  in  the  British  conquest.  As  in  most  of  the 
Antilles,  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants  are  negroes  und  half-breeds,  descendants, 
like  their  former  owners,  of  immigrants  from  the  other  islands,  and  speaking  the 
French    creoIe   patois.   ^This  is  an   extremely  soft   idiom  of   highly  simplified 


.J|.w«JJlM^^j«^,4l!^lii.,«l^ui,^^lJ-^4lll^u■,|'ll.|.tl'.i^illr•,|i. 


,-1t» 


66 


SOUIH  AMEEICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


etructure,  though  still  possessing  its  own  grammatical  and  euphonic  laws.  The 
Trinidad  dialect,  which  has  been  studied  by  Thomas,  a  native  of  colour,  possesses 
quite  a  literature,  consisting,  like  the  Martinique  and  Haiti  varieties,  especially 
of  wise  sayings  and  proverbs. 

Nevertheless,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  near  future  the  numerical 
preponderance  will  cease  to  belong  to  these  French  or  Gallicised  ethnical  elements. 
A  large  number  of  extensive  plantations  and  of  the  agricultural  factories  have 

Fig.  21.  — Wife  of  a  Rich  Hindu  Coolie. 


already  changed  hando,  having  been  purchased  from  their  former  owners  by 
English  and  Scotch  settlers.  The  latter  have  the  reputation  of  being  very  grasp- 
ing, as  illustrated  by  the  local  expression,  "  Scotch  friend,"  applied  to  the 
murderous  lianas  which  entangle  the  trees  in  their  deadly  coils.  Under  analogous 
influences,  negroes  of  English  speech  from  Barbadoes  and  othfer  islands  are  con- 
tinually replacing  the  French  blacks,  and  driving  them  to  the  interior.  The 
latter,  rejoicing  in  their  emancipation,  and  naturally  anxious  to  take  advantage  of 


vm 


•^■wm'.'.vwjM  w  iwiiii 


■"■ — ' -  7*"-  V; V'*'*^'Vyv-''''S''.''V'; ' >  '  '■■'■■i'j'IW'JWl 


TBINIDAD. 


67 


the  changed  relations,  have  nearly  all  abandoned  the  plantations,  and  now  culi  i- 
vate  their  own  little  plots,  which  yield  enough  for  all  their  wants.  There  exist 
over  20,000  such  small  holdings,  belonging,  for  the  most  part,  to  these 
Africans. 

But  the  great  landowners,  deprived  of  the  slaves  who  formerly  garnered  their 
crops,  have  had  to  replace  them  by  hands  procured  through  agents  from  the  Far 
East.  So  early  as  the  year  1800  some  traders  had  already  introduced  from 
Macao  about  a  hundred  Chinese,  amongst  whom  was  a  solitary  woman ;  at 
present  these  "  Celestials  "  are  estimated  at  some  3,000,  many  of  whom  have  in 
their  turn  abandoned  the  large  plantations,  and  taken  either  to  petty  dealings  or 
to  cultivating  small  plots  on  their  own  account. 

Since  the  year  1845  the  imported  labourers  are  nearly  all  Hindus,  engaged 
directly  by  speculators,  who  are  subsidised  by  the  colonial  government  to  the 
extent  of  about  £80,000  a  year.  The  coolies,  almost  exclusively  from  Bengal, 
are  engaged  according  to  the  season,  to  the  number  of  2,000  or  3,000,  for  a  term 
of  five  years,  after  which  they  have  the  right  of  a  free  passage  home.  All  but 
700  or  800  remain  in  the  island,  where  they  contribute  with  the  negroes  to 
increase  the  class  of  small  freeholders.  Some  even  return  from  their  Asiatic 
homes,  and  settle  in  Trinidad  with  their  families  and  friends.  Thus  the 
traveller  may  here  recognise  the  natives  as  well  as  the  scenery  of  India  in 
the  coconut-groves  of  the  east  and  west  coasts.  The  effect  is  heightened  by 
the  gay  banners  fluttering  from  tall  bamboos  to  indicate  from  a  distance  the 
Hindu  temples,  where  the  devotees  come  to  make  their  floral  offerings. 

The  coolies,  who  at  present  form  a  third  of  the  population,  generally  keep 
aloof,  contracting  no  alliances  either  with  the  whites  or  the  blacks.  Never- 
theless, there  have  already  sprung  up  some  fine  types  of  Eurasians,  a  class 
daily  acquiring  an  increasingly  important  position  in  Trinidad  society.*  The 
Sivaites,  forming  the  majority  of  the  Hindus,  live  on  bad  terras  with  the  Moham- 
medans, and  sanguinary  conflicts  have  even  taken  place  between  the  votaries  of 
the  rival  religions.  Nearly  all  their  savings  are  spent  by  the  coolies  in  the 
purchase  of  jewellery  for  their  wives,  which  in  case  of  divorce  gives  rise  to  much 
wrangling  and  lawsuits.  • 

Agricultural  Resources. — Topographs. 

In  his  work  on  the  C-inoco  regions,  published  in  1727,  the  Jesuit  Qumilla 
informs  his  readers  that  the  soil  of  Trinidad  had  been  condemned  to  perpetual 
sterility  ever  since  the  first  settlers  had  refused  to  pay  the  tithes.  Nevertheless,  the 
fecundity  of  the  island  has  been  amply  vindicated  by  its  white,  black  and  yellow 
cultivators.  Although  scarcely  one-eighth  of  the  land  hae  been  reclaimed,  the 
foreign  trade,  consisting  chiefly  of  sugar,  molasses  and  cacao,  has  long  exceeded 
£4,000,000,  while  the  local  traffic  in  fruits,  vegetables  and  other  provisions  is 
incref  •»ig  still  more  rapidly. 

"■<       y  all  the  coffee-grounds  have  been  abandoned,  and  tobacco  also  is  now 

•  F.  H.  Hart,  rWwiaorf. 


ni 


i 
^ 


''"" '  *jlfll'1'¥ 


68 


SOUTH  AMEEIOA— THE  ANDES  EEGIONS. 


but  little  grown,  although  the  leaf  is  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  Cuba.  One  of 
the  most  costly  operations  on  the  plantations  is  the  uprooting  of  the  para-grass, 
which,  although  yielding  an  excellent  fodder,  grows  with  a  vigour  that  threatens 
to  stifle  the  more  valuable  sugar-cane.  Most  of  the  agricultural  and  commercial 
life  of  the  island  is  centred  on  the  west  coast,  where  are  situated  the  two  largest 
towns,  now  connected  by  a  railway  and  by  a  regular  line  of  steamers.      The  east 


I   ■ 


In  I 


^1 

f«i:!'ii 


Fig.  22.— Teinidad. 
Boale  1  :  l.IWO.OOO. 


West  or  Greenwich 


6I°40 


61°  10' 


Utol2 
Fattaom*. 


Depths. 


12totiO 
Fatbonu. 


60  Fathoms 
and  apwardB. 


80  MilFR 


side,  facing  the  Atlantic  and  the  trade  winds,  is  almost  a  solitude  dt  ?titute  of 
towns  or  harbours. 

Besides  its  agricultural  and  commercial  importance,  Trinidad  has  a  certain 
value  in  the  eyes  of  the  restless  South  American  populations,  as  a  place  of  refuge 
for  political  exiles  and  lugitives  from  Venezuela  and  the  other  Spanish  republics. 
In  former  times  it  was  also  the  headquarters  of  British  military  operations  in 
the  West  Indies.  Many  an  expedition  was  here  organised  during  the  wars  of 
independence,  and  from  this  station  English  traders  may  now  command  the 
entrance  of  the  Orinoco,  one  of  the  great  highways  to  the  interior  of  the  continent. 


«t 
en 
pa 
re 
bu 
Joi 


vm^. 


■W^^PBWpwjf^^i^feipipilP^^ 


TEINIDAD. 


69 


Trinidud  is  already  the  depot  for  the  Venezuelan  lands  which  border  the  great 
river,  and  it  might  one  day  take  the  same  position  with  regard  to  the  Colombian 
plateaux  through  the  Rio  Meta. 

Fort  of  Spain  {Puerto  Espam),  usually  designated  by  the  simple  word  "  Town," 
is  in  truth  the  largest  town,  as  well  as  the  political  capital,  of  Trinidad.*     Yet 

Fig.  23.— PoBT  OP  Spain. 
Soale  1  :  IIB.OOO. 


ei'jig 


West  or  Greenwich 


ersa' 


Deiittw. 


SanUa  ezpimed 
at  low  water. 


Oto6 
rathoma. 


5  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


m 
§ 


HHUes. 


«t  a  distance  it  seems  lost  in  t^e  surrounding  vegetation.  Whole  quarters  are 
embowered  in  verdure,  and  the  shady  avenues  of  the  city  are  continued  by  fine 
parklands  towards  the  suburban  villas  dotted  over  the  slopes  of  the  hills.  Till 
recently  water  had  to  be  brought  by  boats  from  u  distance  of  nearly  two  miles, 
but  it  is  now  supplied  from  the  little  river  Maraval  by  an  aqueduct  three  miles 
Jong. 

The  tranquil  roadstead  to  which  the  place  owes  its  popularity  is  well  sheltered, 

•  r.  H.  Hart,  Trinidad. 


70 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  EEGIONS. 


but  too  shallow  for  large  vessels,  which  have  to  ride  at  anchor  some  miles  from- 
the  quays.  .spite  this  drawback,  Port  of  Spain  has  attracted  to  itself  nearly  all 
the  commerce  of  the  island,  while  splendid  natural  harbours,  such  as  that  of 
Chaguaratnas,  near  the  Boca  Mono  passage  at  the  extremity  of  the  north-west 
peninsula,  are  completely  deserted.  Being  surrounded  by  rocks  and  swamps,  and 
remote  from  the  cultivated  districts,  these  havens  are  useless  for  the  purposes  of 
trade.  Chaguaramas,  sheltered  by  islets  and  reefs,  is  deep  enough  for  the  largest 
vessels,  and  it  was  here  that  the  Spanish  fleet  took  refuge  in  1797,  when 
Admiral  Apodoca  delivered  it  to  the  flumes  rather  than  accept  the  challenge  of  aa 
English  squadron  of  equal  strength.  The  Spanish  Government  preferred  to  be 
defeuted  by  its  English  enemies  than  defended  by  its  French  friends  !  *  During 
the  season  thousands  of  visitors  resort  to  the  beach  at  Chaguaramas,  to  the 
neighbouring  islets,  and  to  the  Ish  doa  Monos  {"  Monkey  Island ")  in  the 
Dragon's  Mouth. 

A  road  and,  :"i.rther  south,  the  navigable  course  of  the  Caroui  connect  Port 
of  Spain  with  the  old  capital,  San  Josef  (San  Josi),  which  crowns  a  rising 
ground  commanding  a  wide  prospect  of  cultivated  lands.  Beyond  this  place  a 
branch  of  the  railway  runs  east  to  the  village  of  Arima,  while  the  main  line  runs 
south  to  San  Fernando  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Naparima.  As  an  agricultural  centre 
San  Fernando  ranks  in  importance  with  the  capital  itself.  In  the  district  are 
situated  the  richest  plantations  in  the  island,  and  farther  inland  the  villages  of 
Montsemd  and  Princestown  are  surrounded  by  extremely  fertile  tracts  in  the 
hands  of  independent  farmers,  amongst  whom  are  distinguished  some  Venezuelans 
of  Spanish  race. 

Administration. 

Trinidad,  to  which  its  neighbour,  Tobago,  is  administratively  attached,  forms 
a  British  Crown  Colony,  so  that  its  inhabitants  are  subjects  with  scarcely  any 
electoral  rights.  The  Queen  appoints  the  governor,  as  well  as  the  executive 
council  of  three  members  by  whom  he  is  assisted.  The  legislative  assembly, 
also  appointed  by  the  Crown,  consists  of  six  ex-offich  and  eight  other  members. 
The  elective  principle,  however,  is  allowed  free  play  in  the  municipal  a£Fairs  of 
the  capital  and  of  San  Fernando,  fifteen  members  being  elected  for  the  town 
council  of  the  former  and  seven  for  that  of  the  latter  place. 

The  only  armed  forces  are  about  500  police  and  the  same  number  of  volun- 
teers, who  meet  from  time  to  time  for  drill  and  target  practice.  The  schools, 
which  are  frequented  by  the  great  majority  of  the  white,  Hindu,  Chinese,  black, 
and  coloured  children,  partly  depend  on  the  Government,  which  has  founded  and 
endowed  the  secular  establishments,  while  also  contributing  grants  in  aid  both 
to  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  educational  establishments.  The  revenue,  large 
for  a  still  thinly-peopled  island,  is  derived  mainly  from  the  customs.  There  is 
a  public  debt  of  £520,000  (1892),  contracted  almost  exclusively  for  the  railways,, 
which  have  a  total  length  of  54  miles. 

•  Dauxion  Lavuyiwe ;  Kingsioy,  op,  cit. 


.  Jj5!iV'*«N«P».x^" 


'»»a»!JIMiP^mww.w«]iMM»iiii...ii...nM.^.ij^^^        I  ■^j^j      ^1^,^  .,  i.„. ..,,,., ,„i 


■f.  'I»i  ...lui  ii^^i|j.^wiYii)Mi)>|iy,,i,.m,i,,i,,,iii  |^  , 

1 


MARGARITA. 


71 


The  island  is  divided  into  eight  administrative  districts  —Saint  George  and 
Saint  David  in  the  north ;  Caroni,  Saint  Andrews,  Victoria  and  Nariva  in  the 
centre ;  Saint  Patrick  and  Mayaro  in  the  south. 


IV. — Margarita  and  Neighbouring  Islets. 

Margarita,  the  "  Pearl,"  one  of  the  islands  discovered  by  Columbus  in  his 
voyage  of  1498,  belongs,  like  Trinidad,  to  the  Andes  orographic  system,  although 
not  disposed  in  a  line  with  the  Paria  range.  It  develops  a  parallel  chain,  indicated 
by  two  principal  masses,  and  reappearing  some  60  miles  farther  west  in  the 
islet  of  Tortuga.  In  fact,  Margarita  may  be  regarded  as  forming  two  distinct 
.  islands— in  the  east  Margarita,  properly  so  called,  in  the  centre  of  which  Mount 
Copei  rises  to  a  height  of  4,170  feet ;  and  in  the  west  Macanao,  so  named  from 
its  culminating  point,  4,484  feet  high. 

Although  of  less  extent  than  Trinidad,  Margarita  greatly  exceeds  it  in  the 
altitude  of  its  mountains.  Between  the  two  sections  of  the  island  stretches  the 
so-called  Restinga,  or  Laguna  Grande  ("  Great  Lagoon  "),  which  communicates 
with  the  gulf  on  the  south  side  by  a  shifting  channel,  while  on  the  north  side  the 
two  islands  are  connected  by  a  thin  but  continuous  strip  of  sands.  At  its 
narrowest  point  this  line  of  dunes  is  scarcely  more  than  164  feet  wide  between 
the  lagoon  and  the  open  sea. 

Margarita  is  one  of  those  islands  which  were  first  colonised  by  the  Spaniards. 
In  1499,  the  very  year  following  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  Guerra  discovered  the 
pearl-banks  of  Cocho  Island  off  the  south  coast,  and  soon  after  others  were 
reported  round  the  main  island  and  on  the  coast  of  the  islet  of  Cubagua  (Cuagua), 
which  immediately  attracted  numerous  adventurers.  In  1625  a  fort  had  already 
been  erected  on  Margarita ;  it  did  not,  how  ever,  prevent  the  capture  and  plunder 
of  the  island  by  the  dreaded  "  tyrant,"  Lopez  de  Aguirre,  in  1561.  Then  came 
the  English,  and  in  the  next  century  the  Dutch. 

During  the  War  of  Independence  the  Margaritans  took  sides  with  the  rebels, 
for  which  they  wero  cruelly  punishf  d  by  tht;  Spaniards.  This  earned  for  the 
insula  ..roup  the  official  title  of  Niu-^va  Usparta  ("New  Sparta")  from  the 
grateful  republicans  of  Venezuela  after  the  revolution. 

As  a  whole  the  island  must  be  regarded  as  arid,  being  largely  covered  with 
bare  rocks,  dunes,  saline  marshes,  and  even  coral  reefs  formerly  built  up  round 
the  coast.  The  inhabitants  find  little  room  for  tillage  except  in  the  narrow 
upland  valleys,  and  their  chief  resources  are  fishing  and  the  collection  of  salt, 
which,  under  the  name  of  sal  dc  espnma  ("  foam  salt"),  is  highly  appreciated  in 
the  trade.  The  women,  who  are  very  industrious,  make  earthenware  and  light 
cotton  stuffs,  besides  hats  of  a  coarso  fibre,  which  are  sold  at  a  low  price  in  every 
part  of  the  republic. 

The  pearl  industry  is  almost  abandoned,  nearly  all  the  banks  being  exhausted 
while  the  pearls  themselves  b.ivo  fallen  considerably  in  value.     But  the  fisheries 
proper   are   still  very  prwiuctiv-.',  that  of  Coche  Island  being   farmed   by  the 


4 


•j#laag««i». 


"y.J )*^mA.1i ttWft J-   r*.-.^   , 


72 


SOUTH  AMERICA— THE  ANDES  REGIONS. 


Government  to  speculators  at  a  high  figure.  The  fish  is*  largely  captured  with 
enormous  trawl-uets,  each  worked  by  1 80  or  200  hands,  ail  members  of  the  Guay- 
queri  tribe.  A  single  haul  occasionally  represents  as  much  as  twenty-five  tons 
of  dried  fish.  During  the  season,  which  lasts  nine  months,  a  good  chinchorro  (net) 
should  take  altogether  at  least  225  tons.  When  the  Hue  closes  round  the  seething 
multitudes,  hundreds  of  fishes  leap  out  and  fall  into  the  boats  which  crowd  round 
the  periphery.  The  oil  of  the  sharks  and  of  the  other  non-edible  kinds  serves 
for  lighting  the  houses  and  varnishing  the  boats. 

Nevertheless,  all  this  marine  produce,  with  the  slight  resources  of  the  island, 
are  insufiicient  to  support  the  inhabitants,  who  consequently  emigrate  in  consider- 


■Fier.  24. — Maboarita. 
Scale  1  :  800,000. 


64°30- 


West  oF  Greenwich 


65-50' 


Dept'oa. 


Oto  5 


5  Fathoms 
and  npvrards. 

__  IRMileH. 


able  numbers  to  Venezi  oia.  The  great  majority  are  half-caste  Guayqueri  natives, 
who  increase  very  rapidly.  In  1881  they  -iumbonvii  over  37,000,  of  whom  more 
than  20,000  were  women,  an  enormous  disjidrity  due  to  *»e  emigration  of  the 
men  to  the  mainland.  In  average  year^  -he  birth-rate  far  exceeds  the  mor- 
tality in  this  salubrious  island,  which  attracts  consumptive  patients  from  great 
distances. 

The  chief  centres  of  population,  Asuncion,  the  capital,  noted  for  its  miraculous 
Virgin  adorned  with  a  robe  of  pearls,  the  two  ports  of  Pampatar  and  Pueblo  de  la 
Mar  {Porlmnar),  and,  near  the  bay  of  Juan  Griego,  Pueblo  del  Norte,  have  all 
been  found,  d  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island.    Nueca  Cadiz,  founded  in  Cubagua 


& 
m 


Wm 


^•: 


RW"* 


-'W"'M)lt!tNkiy^i'j|^i'!iy^jyf.riH||i.y-:>t'i!'<i^^  ■LiM,pmMii*^'-^»'^.yi'.,'j"J' 


■  ■j.iiwji-j-vmivjg 


OROHILLA— CURACAO. 


78 


Isluni  80  early  as  the  year  1515,  and  consequently  the  oldest  of  all  Spanish  settle- 
ments in  South  America,  was  abandoned  when  the  neighbouring  pearl  fisheries 
<5eased  to  be  productive. 

East  of  Margarita  the  little  group  of  the  Teatigos  ("  Witnesses  ")  recalls  the 
presence  of  a  formidable  pirate  of  the  first  years  of  the  eigliteenth  century, 
Captain  Teach,  the  "  Bluebeard  "  of  West  Indian  legends.  Frequeut  attempts  have 
been  made  to  recover  his  treasures,  said  to  have  been  buried  "  three  hundred 
paces  "  from  a  certain  point  in  the  chief  island  of  the  group. 

Tortuga,  farther  west,  is  occupied  by  a  small  village  and  encircled  by  a  cortege 
of  Tortuguillos  ("  Little  Turtle  Reefs").  Blanquilla  in  the  north,  as  indicated 
by  its  name,  is  an  expanse  of  whitish  sands  aud  rocks  with  a  stunted  vegetation 
■of  cactuses  and  mimosas.  A  few  depressions  here  and  there  have  enough  vege- 
table  humus  to  repay  cultivation.  During  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  a  planter 
from  Guadaloupe  established  himself  with  his  slaves  in  Blanquilla,  where  he 
wanted  to  set  up  a  cotton-mill.  But  the  Spanish  Government  expelled  the 
intruders,  and  restored  this  remote  land  to  solitude,  to  its  wild  oxen  and  packs  of 
runaway  dogs. 

V. — The  Leeward  Islands. — From  Obchiixa  to  Ahuba, 

These  islands,  which  run  first  west  and  then  north-west  in  continuation  of  the 
eastern  chain  beginning  with  Blanquilla,  develop  an  extremely  regular  curve 
parallel  with  the  Venezuelan  coast ;  each  member  of  the  group  even  affects  a  trend 
identical  with  that  of  the  opposite  mainland.  All  represent  the  upraised  summits 
of  a  submarine  ridge  belonging  like  Margarita  to  the  Andes  system,  but  rising  to 
a  much  lower  elevation  above  sea  level.  The  culminating  crest  of  Orchillais  only 
400  feet  high,  while  Sanct  Christoffel,  highest  summit  in  Cura9ao  and  in  the  whole 
ohain,  scarcely  exceeds  1 ,200  feet. 

On  the  other  hand  the  islands  have  been  enlarged  horizontally  by  the  coral- 
builders.  The  Los  Roques  cluster,  which  abuts  south-eastwards  on  a  rock  150 
feet  high,  has  its  reefs  rising  here  and  there  above  the  surface  disposed  in  cir- 
oular  form  like  the  atolls  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  neighbouring  Aves  (Bird 
Islands)  are  also  of  coralline  origin,  whereas  Aruba  (Oruba),  in  the  extreme  west, 
presents  a  nucleus  of  largely  disintegrated  syenite  and  granite,  whose  detritus 
forms  the  soil  of  the  island,  itself  encircled  by  a  broad  fringe  of  coralline  lime- 
stone. 

The  eastern  islets  and  reefs,  Orchilla,  Los  Roques,  and  Aves,  are  uninhabitable 
rocks  visited  only  by  fishermen  and  lighthouse-keepers.  After  the  Revolution 
they  were  left  politically  dependent  on  Venezuela,  while  the  three  western  islands 
of  Buen  Aire,  Curd9ao,  end  Aruba,  all  of  relatively  large  siae  and  cultivable,  had 
long  previously  been  detached  from  Spain. 

Curasao. 
In  1499  Hojeda  had  already  discovered  Cura9ao,  which  he  called  the  "  Isle  of 
Giants."     It  was  occupied  to  the  sixteenth  century  by  some  Spanish  settlers,  but 


I 

■  ■it 


^ 


'•S 


74 


SOUTH  AMEBICA— THE  ANDES  BE0I0N8. 


it  was  seized  in  1632  by  tho  Dutch,  who  remained  masters  of  the  archipelago  till 
the  wars  of  the  Empire,  when  it  was  temporarily  occupied  by  the  English  and 
restored  to  Holland  in  1814.  Despite  its  small  extent  and  scanty  population,  this 
colony  is  highly  valued  by  its  possessors  on  account  of  the  deep  and  well-sheltered 
harbour  on  the  south  coast  of  Cura9ao.  At  the  time  of  the  conquest  by  the  Dutch 
traders  Cura9ao  was  still  inhabited  by  a  tribe  of  about  500  aborigines,  who  are 
said  to  have  accompanied  the  Spanish  settlers  to  the  muinland. 

Willemstad,  capital  of  the  colony,  lies  on  the  east  side  of  the  harbour,  which  is 
still  often  designated  by  its  old  Spanish  name  of  Santa  Ana.     The  capital  itself  is 


m 


;*i 


Fig.  25.— OxmA9Ao. 
Soale  1 :  700,000. 


69*  10' 


68° 60'  West  0?  Greenwich 


Depths. 


OtnSOO 
Fathoms. 


600  Fathom* 
and  upward!. 


.  It  Hilea. 


better  known  by  the  name  of  Cura9ao,  which  is  that  of  the  whole  island.  Tho 
houses  are  built  in  a  style  resembling  that  of  Amsterdam  as  far  as  was  possible 
under  the  conditions  required  by  a  tropical  climate.  In  the  passage  separating  it 
from  the  western  suburb  of  Overzijde  ("Overside"),  and  in  the  swampy  waters 
ramifying  inland,  Willemstad  also  presents  the  aspect  of  a  Dutch  town.  The 
quays  are  everywhere  crowded  with  shipping,  while  men-of-war  ride  at  anchor  in 
the  Schottegat,  a  deep  lagoon  forming  a  northern  extension  of  the  harbour.  A 
bridge  of  boats  connects  the  capital  with  its  suburb  just  above  two  forts  guard- 
ing the  entrance  to  the  basin,  which  is  accessible  to  the  largest  vessels  through  a . 
channel  6  to  10  fathoms  deep. 


'  'f 


y 


X 


— \A* 


mi 


ml 


i 


m 


I'pp  '""p  ■•fiiiimii 


CURASAO. 


7» 


Liko  those  of  Huen  Aire  the  plains  of  Curu(;ao  are  largely  occupied  by  arid 
wastes.  Nevertheless,  some  sugar,  tobacco,  fruits,  and  vegetables  are  raised  for  the 
export  trade  in  a  few  glens,  some  naturally  fertile,  others  rendered  productive 
by  much  patient  labour.  The  Willomstad  traders  also  forward  phosphate  of  lime 
obtained  in  Klein  Cura(;ao,  a  rocky  islet  near  IJuen  Aire.  Other  products  of  the 
colony  are  the  seeds  of  the  diridici-tree,  used  for  tanning,  and  considerable  quan- 


Fig.   26.— WiLUilUTAD. 
Baal*  1  :  48,000. 


Vrtd.ntforiV    ^ 


.AsUnte 


W«»t  oFGrfenwich 


68*57- 


68*58 


0to5 
Fathomi. 


Depths. 


6  to  10 
FaUioms. 


10  Fathoms 
and  upwards. 


i  MUe. 


.i^' 


titles  of  salt,  till  recently  procured  by  natural  evaporation  alone,  but  now  more 
rapidly  crystallised  by  artificial  processes. 

But  the  local  traffic  is  of  small  account  compared  with  the  transit  trade  with 
the  Venezuelan  mainland,  to  which  Wiljemstad  is  mainly  indebted  for  its  commer- 
cial prosperity.  Here  the  Colombian  and  Venezuelan  shippers  obtain  the  vessels 
and  crews  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade,  as  well  as  the  advances  required  to  carry 
on  their  operations.  The  Jewish  and  Christian  bankers  of  Curasao  are  amongst 
the  principal  creditors  of  the  Hispano- American  speculators.     Like  Trinidad,  the 


fc-iiu'ii.—-.  .-^-.'.^-^.l^riU, 


'fmf">  I  'i' 


1 

H 


70 


SOUTH  AMEUKJA— THE  ANDKS  lUiUlONS. 


Dutch  iHliiiul  hiiH  uIho  lon^  nervt'd  nn  n  pliioe  of  refuse  unci  a  centre  of  politio.i! 
intriguo  for  the  oxilon  uiid  coiiHpiratora  of  tho  noighhourinji;  ropublicH.  Willom  ud 
in  uIho  u  sort  of  liiifj;uiiitiu  cupit.il,  for  horu  iiioru  thun  ol^owhero  in  eurrotit  i.he 
iui<(;iill(>d  /i(i/mmiento  (papimicnto),  u  curioua  lingua  fninca  composed  of  Spunish, 
Dutch,  KtigliMh,  und  nutivo  (Arubu  und  Goujiru)  ulouiuttts.  It  even  contains  some 
PortugucNo  words,  the  presouco  of  which  is  difficult  to  explain,  the  Portugueso 
never  having  navigated  theso  waters. 

Ahuha. 

Aruba,  weHtornmo.it  member  of  the  group,  formerly  bore  the  name  of  Azua, 
from  u  shrub  very  common  in  the  locality.  It  is  tho  best  cultivated  of  the  throe 
Dutch  islands,  although  Rutfering  from  a  want  of  water,  which  has  to  ')  husbanded 
in  cisterns  or  drawn  from  tidal  wells  sunk  in  tho  sands.  Now  seldom  visited  by 
travellers,  Aruba  is,  v  vertholess,  the  most  interesting  isliind  in  tho  atohipolugo 
from  the  archsuologicul  point  of  viow.  Here  are  found  many  stone  and  clay 
objects,  besides  rock  inscriptions  of  Indian  origin.  The  earthenware  is  almost 
invariably  embellished  with  little  figures  representing  frogs'  or  owls'  heads.  The 
inscriptions,  painted  in  various  colours,  but  never  carved,  differ  little  from  those 
occurring  in  many  places  on  tho  mainland.* 

The  aborigines,  all  half-breeds,  have  preserved  nothing  of  theii  iiitive  language 
■except  certain  forms  of  incantation  and  medical  recipes.  Till  recently  they 
deposited  their  dead  in  large  con>  shaped  vessels,  which  were  buried  under  little 
barrows.  The  Spanish  conquerors  found  in  Aruli  a  populous  city  abounding  in 
the  precious  metals,  which  gave  rise  to  the  whimsical  and  evidently  erroneous 
■etymology  of  the  name  Aruba  (Oruba) :  Oro  hul^ !  *'  K  vo  was  gold  !  **  At  present 
only  fiiint  traces  of  th(?  precious  metals  ciin  t  o>  *  cte^^  '  i  the  rocks  of  the  island. 
According  to  the  geologist  Martin,  Aruba  wr  'Le  last  member  of  the  Leeward 
group  to  be  separated  from  the  mainland ;  iere  are  still  seen  some  species  of 
animals  which  have  disappeared  irr>m  Buun  Aire  and  Cura9ao;  such  especially 
are  a  species  of  parrokeet,  a  frog,  anii  a  rattlesnake.  In  recent  times  indications 
have  been  observed  of  an  upheaval  of  the  coasts. 

*  Alph.  Pinart,  Exploration  de  Curafao  el  d^ Aruba. 


II  MiM     1" 


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'siii&iiii^Miii^iiMiasii%idL-iiii:siii^ufi^- 


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rrata 

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1 

2 

3 

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la  dernlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboles  suivsnts  apparattra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  Ie 
cas:  ie  symbols  — »*  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  Ie 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  csrtee,  planches,  tableeux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
fllmAs  A  dee  taux  de  reduction  dIffArents. 
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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  Ie  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  lies  diagrammes  sulvants 
liiustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MMl 


11 


GRAN  CHACO  INDIANS. 


\! 


« 


p-  W^  lfi*'>  ■*>MVi"«-.<*^J"«»i»" 


THE 


EAKTII    AND    ITS    INHABITANTS 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


,&'' 


fi 


ELISEE  RECLUS. 


EDITED  BY 

A,  H.  KEANE,  B.  A., 


UtIMBER  OF  COUNCIL,   ANTHROP.   INSTITDTE;    COR.    IIEMB.   ITALIAN   AND  WASHINGTON    ASTHROP,   SOC; 


VOL.   II. 


AMAZOJVTIA  AND  LA  PSm^boFEDUoj^ 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS  AND  MAPS. 


NEW    YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

1895. 


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1 


A   PARTIISTG   WORD. 


N  completing  this  long,  work,  begun  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  I 
may  congratulate  myself  on  the  good  fortune  by  which,  in  the 
course  of  a  life  not  'lacking  in  stirring  incidents,  I  have  been 
enabled  to  fulfil  my  engagements  of  regular  publication,  without 
ever  once  breaking  faith  with  ray  readers.  At  the  same  time  I  um  well  aware 
that  the  best  intentions  and  most  conscientious  labour  would  have  been  inade- 
quate to  such  an  undertuking,  but  for  the  devoted  fellow-workers  who  ba«#^ 
constantly  aided  me  by  their  researches  and  advice,  •^'' 

A  feeling  of  gratitude  must  therefore  be  uppermost,  and  my  thanks  are 
accordingly  given  to  all  friends  who  have  directly  or  indirectly  helped  me  by 
notes,  studies,  correspondence,  corrections,  encouragement,  or  criticism.  But  this 
acknowledgment  cnn  no  longer  reach  all  those  to  whom  it  is  due  !  A  retrospective 
glance  shows  the  path  marked  at  intervals  by  the  memory  of  comrades  in  work 
garnered  by  death.  Towards  them  above  all  my  thoughts  are  turned  at  the  close 
of  my  task.  On  this  last  page  I  record  the  name  of  Emile  Templier,  who  sought 
me  out  on  the  pontoons  of  Brest  with  a  view  to  the  publication  of  the  long  con- 
templated JEarth  audits  In/iabituiits. 

This  period  of  twenty  years,  long  relatively  to  the  life  of  a  man,  is  as  nought 
in  tho  history  of  the  Earth ;  yet  how  well  it  has  been  utilised !  How  many 
discoveries  and  explorations  have  followed  one  on  the  other,  adding  to  our  previous 


% 


W—^     •"'■■.Tf*! 


I 


'K 


I- 


IV 


A    PARTING  WOED. 


knowledge  mul  requiring  us  to  modify  our  description  of  the  world !  Although 
the  mystery  of  the  Poles  is  still  unrevculed,  Nunsen  has  at  least  made  his  astonish- 
ing journey  from  shore  to  shore  of  ice-capped  Greenland.  lu  the  interior  of  Asia, 
the  "Eternal  Sanctuary,"  where  dwells  the  divine  Dalai-Lama,  has  since  Hue's 
visit  been  closed  to  profane  Europeans ;  nevertheless,  every  year  sees  the  circle 
of  itineraries  narrowed  round  about  the  sacred  spot. 

In  the  "  Dark  Continent,"  the  problems  of  the  Nile,  of  the  Zambesi,  Congo, 
and  Niger  have  all  been  solved.  Everywhere  the  network  of  travels  covers  the 
planet  with  its  ever-contracting  meshes.  A  systematic  exploration  has  even  been 
begun  of  the  underground  world,  of  the  caves  and  katabothrus  of  Greece,  the 
subterranean  pits  and  channels  of  Vaucluse  and  the  Causses.  The  chart  of  the 
marine  depths,  with  their  temperatures,  living  organisms,  and  geological  deposits, 
IS  progressing,  like  that  of  the  continents,  towards  completion.  As  knowledge 
increases,  man,  so  to  say,  becorat  s  daily  transformed  to  a  new  life. 

At  the  same  time  distant  lands  are  constantly  drawn  closer  together.  The 
Atlantic,  a  broad  expanse  for  Norse  Vikings  and  Genoese  mariners,  has  become,  in 
the  language  of  modern  seafarers,  a  mere  "  ditch  "  traversed  in  a  hundred  hours. 
Every  year  diminishes  the  time  taken  to  make  the  tour  of  the  world,  which  for 
certain  "  globe-trotters  "  has  become  a  caprice  of  the  moment.  So  bounded  are 
now  the  confines  of  the  planet,  that  it  everywhere  benefits  by  the  same  industrial 
appliances  ;  that,  thanks  to  a  continuous  network  of  postal  and  telegraphic  services, 
it  has  been  enriched  by  a  nervous  system  for  the  interchange  of  thought ;  that  it 
demands  a  common  meridian  and  a  common  hour,  while  on  all  sides  appear  the 
inventors  of  a  universal  language.  Despite  the  rancours  fostered  by  war,  despite 
hereditary  hatreds,  all  mankind  is  becoming  one.  Whether  our  orio-in  be  one 
or  manifold,  this  unity  grows  apace,  daily  assumes  more  of  a  quickening  reality. 

In  the  presence  of  this  world,  which  is  modified  from  day  to  day,  and  whose 
changes  I  can  follow  only  from  a  distance,  I  have  nevertheless  endeavoured  clearly 
to  realise  the  lands  described,  as  if  I  had  them  actually  under  my  very  eyes,  and 
to  study  their  inhabitants  as  if  I  had  mingled  in  their  society.  I  have  striven  to 
live  my  pictures,  revealing  the  characteristic  features  of  each  region,  portraying 
the  peculiar  genius  of  each  human  group.  Everywhere,  I  may  say,  I  have  felt  at 
home,  in  my  native  land,  amid  my  brother  men.     I  am  not  conscious  of  having 


-fi^V    ■■■^.■..»i..~.ri«i...'.....jaw..'.'ai^.>A^^ii.,..ilja^ri,'iiJ^,,'_'t^-|\ 


»^•r^^;>!;^;f^■l^|^^WlV.'»^^■Wl^f^■«^ylt-■^^^.y^^;■N^yWJ^ 


j'j«jir^«<ifs-r<r^-«4',*.;.,,jn.,  --'.(tf.^ , 


» ^.»*«-^*.^^»- 


A  PARTING  WORD.  y 

beiTi  swnyoil  by  any  sentiment  other  thun  ouc  of  sympathy  and  ri'spcct  for  all  tho 
inhubitimlB  of  the  univorsul  futlioilunrl.  On  this  bull,  that  spins  so  swiftly  in 
space,  a  grain  of  sand  in  infinitudo,  is  it  worth  while  to  cherish  mutual  hatreds  P 

But  while  taking  my  i)laco  at  this  standpoint  of  human  solidarity,  my  work 
seems  still  unfinished,  llofore  studying  in  detail  the  planetary  surface  and  tho 
peoples  inl>abiting  it,  I  had  tried  in  another  work,  The  Earth*  to  study  tho  life- 
history  of  tlie  globe  itself,  such  as  it  is  presented  isolatedly,  prepared  to  receive 
the  humanity  by  which  the  great  body  is  animated.  That  work  was  a  sort  of 
introduction  to  tho  series  of  volumes  which  I  now  bring  to  a  close.  But  is  not  a 
conclusion  still  lackingr  ? 

Man,  like  the  Earth,  has  his  laws. 

Seen  from  above  and  from  afar,  the  diversity  of  features  intermingled  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe  —crests  and  valleys,  meandering  waters,  shore-lines,  heights 
and  depths,  superimposed  rocks — presents  an  image  which,  so  far  from  beino- 
chaotic,  reveals  to  him  who  understands  a  marvellous  picture  of  harmony  and 
beauty.  Tho  man  who  scarchingly  surveys  this  universe,  assists  at  the  vast  work 
of  incessant  creation,  always  beginning,  never  ending,  and  himself  sharing  by  the 
largeness  of  his  grasp  in  the  eternity  of  things,  he  may,  like  Newton,  like  Darwin, 
find  the  word  that  sums  all  up. 

And  if  the  earth  seems  consistent  and  simple  amid  the  endless  complexity  of 
its  forms,  shall  the  indwelling  humanity,  as  is  often  said,  be  nought  but  a  blind 
chaotic  mass,  heaving  at  hazard,  aim'  s.  without  an  attainable  ideal,  unconscious 
of  its  very  destiny  ?  Migrations  in  dive.  ,e  directions,  settlements  and  dispersions, 
growth  and  decline  of  nations,  civilisations  and  decadence,  formation  and  displace- 
ment of  vital  centres ;  are  all  these,  as  might  seem  at  the  first  glance,  mere  facts, 
nay,  facts  unconnected  in  time,  facts  whose  endless  play  is  uncontrolled  by  any 
rhythmical  movement  giving  them  a  general  tendency,  which  may  be  expressed 
by  a  law  P  This  it  is  that  it  concerns  us  to  know.  Is  the  evolution  of  man  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  Earth  ?  How  is  he  modified  under  the 
thousand  influences  of  the  modifying  environment  P  Are  the  vibrations 
simultaneous,  and  do  they  incessantly  modulate  their  tones  from  age  to  age  p 

*  The  Earth  :  A  Descriptive  History  of  the  Physical  Phenomena  of  tho  Life  of  our  Globe.    By 
Eliaee  Eoclus.  — - 


'» 


'■■^■^Wr^fK»"'rt»W-t--«tf'yj'r'V  • 


F'Ci^r'peTrr:??';^-  '":'V"' X:<:,^!?Pr.r<'^i' •  *" 


I,  r 


;  i' 


■    K 


fi  A   I'ARTINO   WORD, 

Tossibly  tlio  little  alrcudy  known  iniiy  enable  ustosce  further  into  tho  durknoss 
of  iho  future,  and  lo  usMist  ut  events  which  uro  not  jet.  Possibly  wo  niuy  succeed 
in  contemplating  in  thought  tlio  ^poctucle  of  human  history  beyond  the  evil  days 
of  strife  and  ignorance,  and  there  again  behold  the  picture  of  grandeur  and  beauty 
already  unfolded  by  the  earth. 

Here  is  what  I  would  fain  study  accorfUng  to  the  measure  of  my  strength. 
From  the  myriad  facts  which  I  have  hud  to  record  from  chapter  to  chapter  I 
would  fain  extract  a  general  idea,  and  thus,  in  a  snmll  volume  written  at  leisure, 
justify  the  long  series  of  bojks  now  ended  without  apparent  conclusion. 

Eu»iB  Reci.us. 


,■,,...1  ■■Mimr-ti  ..li  ir.B  r-itfi  ri  ■"'rii-^i-ii«'-"i-tv,->.i<A.c.j,.j^.w^,&ii)y^.igjifg^gff'fg-y;fi, 


•"•^^-■r ,_?« ;  5*-?9^>f j:*r 


'  "^m^jm" 


7~V.  '"'.]J*^!'^^.^,^rff''.ft|ll<^'''i'>^'''?'MMJ'll|l  "..WJiiW.'iUii.lJmm  I 


»m^p'    'Wmw^-Wi 


CONTENTS. 

» 

MM 

A  Pautino  Wonj) iii 

CHAP. 

I.   TbE  OuiANAS 1 10 

Gonoral  Surrey,  p.  I.  Nitiinil  and  Politiiial  Divisions,  p.  2.  Physical  Feuturos, 
p.  3.  Eivers,  p.  11.  Lukes,  p.  22.  Climate,  p.  25.  Flora,  p.  20.  Fauna,  p.  31. 
Inhabitants,  p.  32. 

II.  Bbitish  Guiana 47—63 

The  North- West  District,  p.  48.  E-snquibo  Basin,  p.  49.  Georgetown,  p.  61. 
Material  Condition,  p.  o3.     Administration,  p.  64. 

III.  Dutch  Gotaxa 5g g^ 

Niokerie,  p.  60.  Paramaribo,  p.  57.  Eastern  Settlements,  p.  59.  Natural  Ee- 
souroes,  p.  69.     Administrutiou,  p.  01. 

IV.  Fbenoh  Guiana ^2 76 

Convict  Stations,  p.  04.  Ciiyonno,  p.  00.  Natural  ResouroeB,  p.  69.  Adminis- 
tration,  p.  70.     The  Contested  Frunoo-Brazilian  Tenitory,  p.  71. 

V.  Brazil:  Genebai,  Survey 77—89 

Geographical  Exploration,  p.  77.  Settlement,  p.  79.  Political  Relations,  p.  81. 
Ethnical  Elements,  p.  85.     PJiy»ical  Divisions,  p.  80. 

VI.  States  of  Amazonas  and  Paha 90 i24 

The  Amazons  River,  p.  90.  Rio  Negro,  p.  93.  The  Madeira,  p.  90.  The 
Amazons  Estuary,  p.  100.  The  Climate,  p.  103.  Flora,  p.  103.  Fauna,  p.  100. 
Inhabitants,  p.  108.     Topography,  p.  114.     Para,  120. 

VII.  State  of  Goyaz       .        .        .        .     r\i^ 128—132 

Tooantins  Basin,  p.  120.  Oimate,  p.  128.  Flora-Fauna— Inhabitants,  p.  129. 
Topography,  p.  130. 

VIII.  States  op   MabanhXo,  Piauhy,  Ceaba,  Rio  Gbande  do  Nobtb,  Pabahyba,  Pkb- 

NAMBuco,  AND  Alaooam 133  —  151 

Geographical  R"<.oaroh,  p.  133.  Physical  Features— Rivpw,  p.  134.  Fernando  de 
Noronha,  p.  130.  Climate— Flora— Fauna,  p.  137.  luhabiiauts,  p.  138.  Topo- 
graphy, p.  139. 

.»  "  '     •;  !'''■' 

y  .   ■"- -1  ,,  I 


i 


I 

I 
J- 


< 


^H  P 1 


viii  CONTENTS. 

IX.  Ktatk*  or  MiNAd  Okham,  Bahia.  SeiuitPR,  akd  Empirito  Hawto   ....     11)3— 17H 

Diiu'dvi'ry  mill  St'ttU'iiii'tit,  j>.  I'Vl.  I'liyHioiil  l''rii».iiri'H,  ji.  liVl.  IMror  8.  I'ViinclHpn, 
]i.  li'>>i.  CoiiMt  StriMiniN,  p.  li'iH.  C'Unmtu  Fluni  Fauiiit,  ]i.  liJ'J.  luhubitui.tM, 
p.  lO'l.     TDiHiffruphy,  p.  107. 


X.  Htati  or  Rto  dr  .lAiteiuo  anu  Nkutrai.  Trbritokv   . 

Phy-icul   FnituiiM,  p.   ITU.      IUvitm,   p.  IN'J.     Climito,  p.  Uft. 
Inhal)ituiitH,  p.  1H(I.     Tupo^nipliv,  p.  tN7. 


170-198 


Floro— Fiiuiin— 


XI.  Statkh  or  S.  rAiii-o,  Pahana,  and  8anta  Cathauina 11)0—233 

Tlic  I)(-<piit4Hl  Zone.  p.  2(10.  rhynioal  l<'i'iitiirrn,  p.  '202.  Rlvom,  p.  20:i.  I'liriiim 
Ba>iii,  p.  jOil.  Climato,  p.  UlO.  Flora— Fuuua,  p.  2 1 1 .  InliubitaiiU,  p.  212. 
TojxiKi-aphy,  p.  21'). 

XII.  State  or  Ilio  Gbandk  do  But. 234 — 248 

PhyHldul  FouturpH,  p.  230.  Coant  Lagoon*,  p.  230.  RivtTH,  p.  230.  Cliaiuto, 
p.  230.     Flora— Fauna,  p.  210.     Topography,  p.  242. 

Xni.  Htatk  of  Matto  (inosso 249—262 

IIiMtorio  Hiirvoy,  p.  241).  I'liyniiral  Fnaturoo,  p.  2.il.  Kivortt,  p.  254,  (Jlimato, 
p.  2.'50.     Flora— Fauna— Inhulntjiiito,  p.  257.     ToiKjgniphy,  p.  200. 

XIV.    MATKRtAL  AND   SOCIAL   CONDITION  OF   BbAZIL 

Immigration,  p.  200.  Agriculture,  p.  208.  Iinnil  Tt'nuro,  p.  271.  InduHtrips, 
p.  273.  CommuuicationH,  p.  27H,  Eduuutiou— Uuligion,  p.  2H3.  AdmiuiHtration, 
p.  285. 


203—291 


XV.  Pakaouay 


292-328 


IliHtorio  Uetros]x?ct,  p  ■-'!)3.  Extent — Population,  p.  205.  Dincovory,  p.  20G. 
PhyNical  Features,  p.  207.  Rivers,  p.  21)8.  (Jliniat«,  p.  30i.  Flora— Fauns, 
p.  303.  InhabitantN,  p.  305.  Tlio  Paraguay  MissionH,  p.  300.  Topography, 
p.  313.     Material  and  Souial  Coudition,  p.  321.     Oovorument,  p.  327. 

XVI.  ITuuouAY  .         .      ' 320—343 

Physical  Feature»— Rivers,  p.  330.  Climato,  p.  332.  Flora— Fauna-  Inhabi- 
tants, p.  331.  Topography,  p.  335.  Honto  Video,  p.  336.  Social  and  Material 
Condition,  p.  33U.     Oovomment,  p.  342. 


XVII.  Ahoentina 

Progress  of  Discovery,  p  344.  Frontier  Questions,  p.  340.  Physical  Features, 
p.  352.  Tlie  Patagonian  Steppe,  p.  305.  The  Pampas,  p.  307.  Rivers,  p.  370. 
The  Parana  Delta,  p.  374.  The  Plate  Estuary,  p.  376.  Closed  Basins,  p.  378. 
The  Rio  Negro,  p.  382.  Patagonian  Rivers  and  liakcs,  p.  385.  Climate,  p.  392. 
Flora,  p.  396.  Fauna,  p.  308.  Inhabitants,  p.  404.  Topography,  p.  421.  Ro^ 
sario,  p.  427.  Salta,  p.  420.  Tuouman,  p.  430.  Meudoza,  p.  437.  Cordoba, 
p.  442.  Buenos  Ayres,  p.  445.  Towns  of  Patagonia,  p.  450,  New  Wales,  p,  458. 
Material  and  Social  Condition,  p.  401.  Stock-breeding,  p.  463.  Land  Tenure, 
p,  407,     Industries — Trade,  p,  409.     Administration— Finance,  p,  474, 

XVIII,  Falkland  Islands  and  South  Geoboia 


344—470 


ArpENDDC— Statistical  TAbLEa 


477—     ' 
483-492 


■li'-  ''^r- 


'  ^^fiSwiiMWiiH,ttfniiJ|))i-jj,ii„,,,n  ^.iHjij'.M^,  »i„,4^ii)l|iji 


'■"^r^^.','. '"."  .''WF-^'JP?^ 


M'lfjil/i^llllll'iylji 


'Itj^L^ 


rjj'w.j'"-'»iwjiw 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


-*— «- 


MAPS    PRINTED    IN    COLOURS. 


South  America  (upper  part) 
South  America  (lower  purt) 


FAOB 

46 
124 


Rio  do  Janeiro  and  EnvirotiM    , 

BuenoB  Ayreg,  Lu  Pliita  und  the  Ehtuary 


MOB 

178 
344 


PLATES. 


Gran  Chaco  Indians  ....  FrontupUce 
Mount  Roraima  .  .  .  Tofncepnge  8 
Galibi  Habitation  on  the  Banks  of  the  Maroni  30 
Cayenne — View  taken  from  Ceperou  .  .  6') 
The  Marailou  at  Tubatinga  ....  90 
Amazonian  Scenery  - -Cacshocira,  near  Manuoa  .  96 
Plootle<i  Banks  of  tli    .\niazou8         .         .  100 

Interior  of  a  Ticuna  I   iit  .        .  ,     108 

Mauaos — View  taken  from  the  Suburbs  .  .118 
Para — View  taken  from  the  Eiver   .         .        .122 

Caraya  Indians 130 

Port  of  Recife 144 

Sugar  Harvest 148 

B.ihia— General  View  of  the  Bay     .         .         .152 

Paulo  Affonso  Falls 156 

Entrance  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  Bay  .         .184 

Rio    de    Janeiro — General  View  tako.i   from 

Cobras  Island 

Immigrant  Station,  Plores  Island,  in  Rio  do 

Janeiro  Bay 

Victoria  Falls,  on  the  Rio  Iguazu    . 
SantosHarbour— View  taken  in  1891      . 
Paranagua-Ciiritiba  Railway— View  taken  at 

the  Morro  deMarumby     .... 


190 

196 
210 
222 

226 


B.inks  0/  the   Aqui- 

To  j'aee  page 


the 


Matto  GroRHo  Scenery 
dauuna       ... 

Longoas  Indians  ou  the  March 

Camauba  I'alms 

Mules  transporting  Minerals    . 

Group  of  Angaite  Indians,  North  Cliuco  . 

Humaita— View  taken  from  the  Banks  of 

Paraguay ....... 

Convoy  of  Waggons 

Monte  Video— Goueral  View  taken  frtm  the 
Cerro 

The  Parana— View  taken  at  Hcmaudar'as 

Convoy  of  Muleteers  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordil- 
lera   

Las  Talmas  Ligunea,  near  the  Mouth  of  the 
Pilcomayo 

Banks  of  the  Rio  Neuque n 

Group  of  Patagonians 

Group  of  Gauchos   . 

Tucunian 

Mendoza .... 

Buenos  Ayres— Congress  Buildings 

General  Aohii — Street  View     . 

Corral  in  the  Province  of  Patagones 


250 
258 
270 
270 
300 

320 
324 


336 
346 

350 

374 
382 
414 
418 
4riO 
438 
448 
436 
464 


" '  '^^'.?'!'wrw" mvifJ!>^i  ',iiv>;*rr^<^»_^^.'imm!ir^  '"^"Sm 


:l 


III'' 


LIST  OF  ILLTTSTEATIONS. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


no, 
1. 
2. 

3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

7. 


Islimd  of  the  Giiianas 
Routes  of  the  Chief  Explorers  of  Guiana 
Tumuc-Humao  Mouutaius 
KAiETEim  Falls       .... 
Essequibo  and  Upper  Rio  liraum  Basins 
Sources  of  the  Oyapok 
Rivers  of  the  Franco -Brazilian  Contested 
Zone      ...... 

8.  Takutu  Savannas       .... 

9.  Forests  and  Savannas  of  Guiana 

10.  Indians  of  the  Guianas 

11.  Galihi  Man 

12.  Galidi  Woman 

13.  Inhabitants  of  Guiana 

14.  North-Westem  District,  Tritish  Guiana 

15.  Georgetown 

16.  Paramaribo  and  Surinam  Estuary      . 

17.  Cultivated  Zone,  Dutch  Guiana 

18.  Penal  Settlements  of  the  Maroni 

19.  Cayenne  Island 

20.  Cayenne     ...... 

21.  Mouth  of  the  Oyapok 

22.  Gold  Mines  of  Guiana 

23.  Mapa  and  Carapaporis  Bay 

24.  Political  Divisions  of  Guiana 

25.  Land  of  Vera  Cruz,  Section  of  Brazilian 

Coast  first  Discovered    . 

26.  Old  Political  Divisions  and  Frontiers 

Brazil 

27.  Brazil  and  Portugal  .... 

28.  Colonia  del  Sacramento 

29.  Relief  of  Brazil  .... 

30.  Solimoes  and  Japura  Confluence 

31.  Uaupes  Confluence  and  Rio  Negro  Cata 

racts      

32.  Lower  Course  of  the  Rio  Branco 

33.  Amazonian  Depression  and  Outer  Zone  of 

the  Cataracts 

34.  Amazonian  Gulf 

35.  Diurnal  Temperatures  of  Para  and  London 

36.  Amazonian  Selva       .... 

37.  Cafusa  Half-breed 

38.  Indian  Populations  of  Amazonia 

39.  Teffe  and  Japura  Confluence 

40.  Madeira  Falls  and  Projected  Railway 

4 1 .  Itttcoatiara  and  Madeira  Confluence  . 

42.  Obidos 

43.  Alemijuer — Santarem 

44.  Para  and  its  Road.stead 

45.  Routes  of  Explorers  in  the  Amazous  and 

Tocaatins  Btsins   .         . 

46.  South  Goyaz  and  Future  Federal  Territory 

of  Brazil        .... 


of 


PAOK 
3 

6 
10 
13 
14 
19 

20 
27 
29 
35 
36 
37 
43 
49 
52 
68 
60 
63 
66 
67 
68 
09 
73 
75 

78 

80 
82 
84 
87 
92 

94 
95 

99 
101 
104 
105 
109 
HI 
116 
117 
119 
120 
121 
123 

127 

131 


""•  >A<a 

47.  Parnahyba  Delta 135 

48.  Fernando  de  Noronha         ....     136 

49.  a.  Liiiz  de  Maranhao  .         .         .         .140 

50.  Ceara m 

51.  Capo  S.  Roque 142 

52.  Natal J43 

53.  Parahyba  and  Cubedelo  .         .         .144 

54.  Pemambuoo i4g 

55.  Pebnambuco — Steeet  Vikw      .         .         .     147 

56.  Fringing  Reefs  between  Parahyba  and  the 

Mouth  of  the  S.  Fiancisco      .         .         .148 

57.  Alagoas  Coast 149 

58.  Maceio  and  its  Roadstead  .         .         .         .150 

59.  Sapao  and  Somno  Wateished     .         .         .156 

60.  Paulo  Affonso  Falls 157 

61.  Mouth  of  the  S.  Frai:;;i.ico  .         .         .     159 

62.  Lower  Course  of  the  Rio  Doce  .         .         .160 

63.  Abi-olhos jgj 

64.  Ancient  Indian  Populati<ms  of  East  Brazil     166 

65.  Queluz  Knot  and  Upper  S.  Francisco  Basin     167 

66.  Ouro  Preto jgg 

67.  OuBO  Pketo— General  View  .        .        .169 

68.  Rio  S.  Francisco  Basin      .         .        .         .171 

69.  Bahia jirg 

70.  Caraviellas  and  surrounding  Beefs     .         .     176 

71.  Victoria j^y 

72.  Itatiaya  Range jgQ 

73.  Peaks  op  ihe  Organ  Ranob,  keau  The- 

bezopulis       .         .         .         .         .         .181 

74.  Rio  de  Janeiro  Seaboard    ....     182 

75.  Mouth  of  the  Parahybi  and  Cape  S.  Thome     183 

76.  Cape  Frio 134 

77.  Campos  and  the  Lower  Parahyba       .         .188 

78.  Coffee  Plantations  .         .         .         .189 

79.  Rio  de  Janeiro  ......     192 

80.  Rio  de  Janeiro  Bay    .....     193 

81.  Rio,  Niotheroy  and  Environments      .         .195 

82.  Petr.'polis 197 

83.  Conte.sted  Brazilo-Argentine  Territory       .    201 

84.  Group  op  Aeauoabiab — State  of  S.  1'aulo    203 

85.  Cavanea  Channel 205 

86.  S.  Sebastiao  and  its  Island         .         .         .     2O6 

87.  Paranagua  Bay 207 

88.  Falls  of    the  Faranapanema    above    and 

below  S.  Sebastiao         ....  209 

89.  Juiz  de  Fora 2I6 

90.  Barbocena          ......  2l7 

91.  S.  JoaodelRey  and  Varzea  do  Mar9al       .  218 

92.  Region  of  the  Minas  de  Geraes  Thermal 

Waters 219 

93.  Ubatnba  Harbour 220 

94.  8.  Paulo 221 

96.  From  Santos  to  S.  Paulo   .        .        .        .223 


f9'"':-."r'xv  ^^!^^W'?v^^ 


PAOB 

135 
136 
140 
141 
142 
143 
144 
146 
147 

148 
149 
150 
156 
167 
159 
160 
161 
165 
167 
168 
169 
171 
173 
176 
177 
180 

181 
182 
183 
184 
188 
189 
192 
193 
195 
197 
201 
203 
205 
206 
207 

209 
216 
217 
218 

219 
220 
221 

223 


"^^W^^^W^^T 


-<irp*^li;i 


1.IST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


no, 

98.  Coffee  Plantations  North  of  S.  Piiiilo 
97.  Sorocaba  nud  Ipaneinii  Iron  Miuu.s  . 
08.  From  Ciiritiba  to  Faranagua    . 

99.  Paranagua        ..... 

100.  S.  Frdiieinno  Island  .... 

101.  Santa  Cathiirina  Isluud    . 

102.  Lagoa  dos  PatoB       .... 

103.  Ltigoa  Miriin  ..... 

104.  Gorman  Colonies  in  South  Brazil 
iOo.  Porto  Alegre  and  Guahyba  Estuary 

106.  Proposed    Caual   from   the    Capivary  to 

Torres  and  Laguua 

107.  Rio  Grandb — Ge.nehal  View 

108.  Polotas 

109.  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  and  its  Bar 

110.  Tapajoz  and  Paraguay  Watershud  . 

111.  Sources  of  the  Alegi-e  and  Aguapuhy 

1 12.  Miitto  Gro.sHo  and  the  Upper  Guapure 

113.  Guy  aba  and  the  Paraguay 

114.  Density  of  the  Brazilim  Populatiim 
116.  Chief  Colonies  of  Iniiiiigi-nnts  in  Brazil 

116.  Chief  Forest  and  Agriuultural  Products 

of  Brazil 

117.  Goldfields  of  Central  Brazil 

118.  Limit  of    the    Mining    Interdict    about 

Diamantina  in  the  riighteeuth  Century 

119.  Chief  Mines  of  Brazil 

120.  Railways  of  BrazU  .... 

121.  Rio,  Minas  and  S.  Paulo  Railway  Sys 

terns 

122.  Navigable  Waterways  of  Brazil 

123.  Political  Divisions  of  Brazil     . 

124.  Palace     on     Fiscal     Island  —  Custom 

House,  Bav  op  Rio     .        .        .        . 

125.  Municipalities  of    the   State  of   Rio  de 

Janeiro  ....... 

126.  Former    Limits    Claimed    and    Present 

Limits  of  Pavayuiy 

127.  The  Pilooraayo         .... 

128.  View  t»ken  on  thr  Filodkato 

129.  Forest  and  Campos  Regions     . 

130.  Jesuit  Missions         .... 

131.  Old  Jesuit  Chukoh  at  Pieayu 

132.  Encatnacion 

133.  Asuncion 

134.  Asuncion— Stbeet  View 

135.  From  Asuncion  tu  Villa  Rica  . 

136.  South-Wtst  Paraguay     . 

137.  Humaita 

138.  Yerba  Mate  Regions  of  Paraguay   and 

Brazil 

139.  La  Plata  Estuary 

140.  Monte  VidfO 

141.  A  SALADEliO  AI  SaLTO     .  .  .  . 


PAOK 

224 
226 
227 
228 
231 
232 
237 
238 
241 
243 

244 
245 
246 
247 
252 
2.i6 
260 
2ol 
264 
267 

270 
274 

275 

,276 

280 

281 
282 
286 

289 

290 

296 
300 
301 
304 
310 
313 
314 
316 
317 
318 
319 
320 

323 
332 
337 
341 


via. 

1 12.  Political  Divisions  of  Uruguay 

143.  Cliicf  Routes  of  Explorers  iu  Patagonia 

144.  Martin  Garcia 

146.  Nevados  Plateau,  North- West  Argentina 

146.  San  Rafael  Nevado 

147.  Nahuel-Hualpi  and  neighbouring  Moun- 

tains       

148.  Sirrra  do  San  Luis 

149.  Southern  Point  of  La  Veutana 

160.  Tres  Bocasin  IHCO 

161.  Parana-Uruguay  Dolta    .... 

152.  Aboentine   Sceneby. — Vikw  iakun   op- 

posite THE  COLLON-CUEA 

153.  Rios  Bebedero  and  Canada 

154.  Ancient  Baxin  of  the  Colorado 

165.  Urre-Lufquen 

156.  Lower  Colorado  and  Rio  Xegro 

167.  Lake  Argentino  accoiding  to  Moreno 

158.  Mouths  of  the  Rios  Chico  and  Santa  Cruz 

159.  From  Lake  Argentino  to  the  Southern 

Fiords  

160.  View    taken   in    tub    Acua     Valley, 

Centbal  1'ampa 

161.  Closed  Basins  of  Argentina 

162.  Floras  of  the  Plateaux  and  Ravines 

163.  Indian  Populations  of  North  Argentina  . 

164.  Lines  of  Outposts  against  the  Indians 

166.  Indian  Populations  of  South  Argentina  . 

166.  CoiTientes  and  the  Great  Confluence 

167.  Sftnta  Fe  and  its  First  Colonies 

168.  Gbnerax  View  of  Jujuy 

169.  Tucuman         .... 

170.  Andalgala  and  Mt.  Aconquija 

171.  Chileuito  and  Famatina    . 

172.  Mendoza  .... 

173.  Inca  Bbidob    .... 

174.  Cordoba  

176.  La  Plata  Muse  dm 

176.  Mount  Tandil  at  Cape  Corrientes 

177.  Ekeatic  Bouldebs  op  Tanuil 

178.  Chains  of  Lakes  and  Forts 

179.  Bahia  Blanca  .... 

180.  Welsh  Colony  of  Chubut 

181.  Old  and  Modem  Colonies  in  Patagoi 

182.  San  Sebastian  Bay  . 

183.  Productive  Lands  of  Argentina 

184.  Route  of  the  Transandine  Railway 

185.  Lines  of  Communication  . 

186.  Geneeal  View  op  La  Plata 
J  87.  Territorial  Divisions  of  Argentina 

188.  Falkland  Archipelago 

189.  Port  Stanley    .... 

190.  South  G^rgia         .        .        . 


niB 


rAOB 

312 
348 
360 
363 
368 

359 
362 
364 
371 

375 

377 
379 
380 
381 
382 
386 
388 

389 

391 
393 
397 
409 
412 
415 
423 
426 
429 
431 
433 
436 
438 
439 
443 
451 
452 
463 
454 
455 
458 
459 
461 
468 
471 
472 
473 
475 
478 
480 
481 


■  ^^i!4:'JtJ;ifi''<'^';^i^y.:^^JJW'JjW^;!jg^ 


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•  ¥•  1 1  irj,  ''».iwv',gK|i.'c';.gt-j(!ii'j;_:)i»'iij»'A:;y-i'a«r' 


W^^W^*^"^ 


I j|i;ai|^»jjiV'.'iff',,'»'''jf ■''''>  '.'W'-fftWif '**""*"■  !"-  '"'^V, 


THE  EARTH  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 


AxMAZONIA  AND   LA  PLATA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  GUIANAS. 

General  Survey. 

URING  the  last  three  centuries  the  term  Guiana,  as  a  geographical 
expression,  has  been  diversely  modified.  When  the  first  Spanish, 
English,  and  Dutch  navigators  visited  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco 
they  found  them  occupied  by  the  Guayano,  Guayana,  or  Guaya- 
naze  Indians,  whose  name  came  to  be  applied  in  a  vague  way  to 
the  whole  region  roamed  by  them  south  of  the  great  river.  This  extension  of  its 
meaning  was  all  the  more  natural  that  the  word  was  already  current  in  various 
forms,  not  only  as  a  tribal  designation,  but  also  as  the  name  of  several  rivers  in 
different  parts  of  the  Continent. 

Thus  the  Guaraunos  (Warauns).  of  the  Orinoco  delta  would  appear  to  be  simply 
Guayanos;  the  Rucuyennes  farther  east  also  called  themselves  Wayana,  and  gave 
the  same  name  to  a  great  tree,  mythical  protector  of  the  tribe.  Lastly  the  Upper 
Rio  Negro,  in  its  higher  reaches  below  the  Andean  foothills,  I  ears  the  name  of 
Guainia,  a  native  term  identical  with  Guinna,  as  is  also  Waini  or  Guainia,  the 
name  of  one  of  the  coast  streams  between  the  Essequibo  and  the  Orinoco  delta. 

But  the  name  Guiana,  as  first  employed  by  Europeans,  did  not  include  the 
Atlantic  coastlands,  which  are  at  present  more  particularly  designated  by  that  name. 
It  was,  in  fact,  restricted  to  the  region  now  known  as  Venezuelan  Guiana,  and  was 
thus  limited  by  the  vast  semi-circular  bend  of  the  Upper  Orinoco.  But  in 
geographical  terminology  it  gradually  acquired  a  wider  application,  being  at  first 
extended  to  the  Brazilian  lands  bounded  southwards  by  the  Rio  Negro  and  the 


^4 


iiif* 


JWPMWMI'P 


ut^^yi'yymiiBippg^i^  - 


■yj'wiy 


2 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


:i 


Amuzons,  ami  then  to  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountuins,  formerly  known,  in  a 
general  way,  as  the  Serra  de  Pariraa,  and  figuring  on  the  early  maps  as  Curibana, 
that  is  to  say,  "  Land  of  the  Caribs." 

Extent — Natural  Divisions. 

"VVitbin  those  n  ider  limits  Guiana  constitutes  a  well-defined  section  of  the  South 
American  mainland.  It  comprises  the  whole  of  the  oval  space,  some  800,000  square 
miles  in  extent,  which  is  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  Continent  by  the  valleys  of 
the  Orinoco,  Cassiquiare,  Rio  Negro,  and  Lower  Amazons.  This  vast  region  of  South 
America  has  been  called  an  "island,"  but  there  is  no  question  here  of  a  real  island 
completely  encircled  by  a  navigable  waterway.  Although  it  may  probably  one  day 
assume  this  character,  by  means  of  a  series  of  artificial  canals,  the  navigation  is  at 
present  interrupted  by  the  famous  Aitures  and  Maipures  rapids  on  the  Orinoco,  as 
well  as  by  others  on  the  Cassiquiare  and  on  the  Upper  Rio  Negro,  where  boatmen  have 
to  land  their  goods  and  surmount  the  obstructions  by  portages.  Thus,  even  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions  of  weather,  currents,  and  conveyance,  the  circum- 
navigation of  Guiana  could  not  at  present  be  completed  under  three  or  four  months. 

From  the  geological  stundpoint  also,  Guiana  constitutes  an  isolated  region 
distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  mainland.  It  consists  of  a  separate  mass  of  granites 
and  other  eruptive  rocks,  which  have  been  upheaved  since  the  Triassic  epoch. 

The  whole  system,  however,  presents  considerable  diversity,  and  may  be  decom- 
posed into  four  nearly  equal  natural  divis^ms  by  t*vo  lines  intersecting  each  other 
at  right  angles.  The  first  is  formed  by  the  crests  of  the  mountains  which  are  dis- 
posed nearl}'  parallel  with  the  equator,  running  from  the  low  water-parting  near 
the  Cassiquiare  towards  the  northern  headland  of  the  Amazons  estuary.  The 
second  is  somewhat  less  distinctly  indicated  by  the  transverse  depression  traversed 
in  one  direction  by  the  Essequibo,  in  the  other  by  the  Rio  Branco. 

Political  Divisions. 

But  the  rival  conquering  Powers  in  the  American  continent  could  scarcely  be 
expected  to  pay  much  attention  to  this  natural  segmentation  of  the  Guianas,  more 
especially  as  the  European  settlers  had  easy  access  only  to  the  coastlands  and  the 
banks  of  the  great  rivers.  Even  within  a  few  miles  of  the  sea  the  interior  of  the 
country  long  remained  absolutely  unknown.  Adventurers  made  their  way  into 
the  recesses  of  the  forests  and  savannas,  but  they  brought  back  no  clear  geogra- 
phical details,  and  of  the  mountainous  central  regions  nothing  was  known  bevond 
vague  or  fabulous  reports.  As  in  so  many  other  parts  of  the  southern  continent, 
rumour  spoke  here  also  of  the  El  Dorado,  who  was  supposed  to  bathe  in  liquid 
gold,  and  who  dwelt  in  an  emerald  and  ruby  palace.  Frequent  attempts  were 
made  to  discover  this  "man  of  gold  "  and  plunder  his  treasures.  But  no  system- 
atic exploration  was  undertaken  before  the  present  century. 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  political  divisions  were  made,  not  along  the  lines 
of  natural  separation,  but  were  developed  from  the  seaboard  towards  the  interior. 
Spain,  whose  domain  is  inherited  by  the  republic  of  Venezuela,  took  possession  of 


:"fe 


le  lines 
nterior. 
ssion  of 


"^^?f!!l^%-j:,/''.-:J'-'.  V'^^ 


^i 


POLITICAL  DIVISIONS  OF  GUIANA. 


8 


the  whole  of  northern  and  western  Gui8'.ia,  along  the  crescent  described  by  the 
Orinoco.  Portugal,  now  replaced  by  Brazil,  appropriated  that  section  of  the 
Guianas  which  lies  on  the  Amazonian  slope.  %  Thus  for  the  other  European  Powers 
nothing  remained  except  ho  maritime  region  comprised  between  the  Orinoco  delta 
and  the  estuary  of  the  Amazons. 

Here  the  English,  Dutch,  and  French  secured  a  footing  as  conquerors  and 
colonists.  To  their  settlements  on  the  seaboard  they  added  the  "  hinterlands  "  of 
all  the  coast  streams  traversing  their  several  domains,  claiming  the  whole  region 
between  the  8ea  and  the  unknown  watersheds  of  those  rivers.     The  three  colonial 

Fig.  1. — Island  of  the  Gotanas. 
Scale  1 :  20,000,000. 


.fiOOUUe*. 


domains  thus  constituted  form  the  territory  now  specially  known  as  Guiana, 
properly  so  called. 

The  frontiers  of  these  colonies,  however,  are  still  fluctuating.  Towards  the 
south  the  water-partings  have  not  yet  been  surveyed  in  their  entire  length  and  in 
all  their  intricate  details.  Numerous  expeditions  have  been  undertaken  in  this 
direction,  but  none  of  them  have  been  commissioned  to  determine  with  accuracy 
the  parting  lines  between  the  several  conterminous  territories.     ,     -    r.       , , 

Towards  the  west  and  east  the  question  of  frontiers  assumes  a  different  aspect, 
and  here  tracts  of  considerable  extent  are  still  a  subject  of  contention.  Great 
Britain  claims  a  right  not  only  to  the  whole  of  the  Essequibo  basin,  but  also  to  a 
section  of  the  upper  Rio  Branco,  which  is  disputed  by  Brazil.  In  the  direction 
of  Venezuela  the  frontiers  of  British  Guiana  have  been  advanced  to  the  southern 
margin  of  one  of  the  chief  branches  of  the  Orinoco  delta  along  the  channel  of 


35= 


4  AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

the  Amacuru.  The  boundary  has  also  been  drawn  so  as  to  include  the  rich 
auriferous  alluvia  of  the  Cuyiini  valley,  and  the  whole  of  the  disputed  territory, 
which  has  already  led  to  sanguinary  conflicts,  comprises  a  superficial  area  more 
extensive  than  that  of  the  region  recognised  as  belonging  indisputably  to  Great 
IJrituin. 

At  the  other  extremity  of  the  Guianns,  France  contests  with  Brazil  a  large 
tract  estimated  at  about  half  the  size  of  France.  The  district  in  dispute  forms  a 
long  strip  of  the  Amazons  basin,  extending  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  between 
the  Araguari  and  the  Rio  Branco.  All  these  disputed  lands  on  the  south,  west, 
and  east  frontiers  form  so  many  distinct  political  domains  comprised  within  the 
natural  limits  of  the  "  island  of  Guiana."  The  whole  region  thus  contains  five 
separate  territories,  with  superficial  areas  as  under : — 

iq.  mjle*, 
British  Guiana,  including  the  distriot  disputed  by  Brazil  .  .  46,700 
Guiana  contested  by  Great  Briiain  and  Venezuela  .        .        .        60,000 

Dutch  Guiana  (undisputed) 4fi,700 

French  Guiana  (undisputed) 31,000 

Guiana  contested  by  Franco  and  Brazil 100,000 

Total  according  to  H.  Coudreau        .         .  272,400 

All  these  Guianas  greatly  resemble  each  other  in  their  general  physical 
aspects,  their  geographical  constitution,  the  direction  and  character  of  their 
running  waters  and  marine  currents,  the  erosions  and  deposits  of  their  ooastlands, 
their  climatic  relations,  the  distribution  of  their  animal  and  vegetable  species, 
the  aifinities  of  their  indigenous  populations.  To  human  agencies  are  mainly 
due  the  chief  contrasts  observed  in  the  different  colonial  territories,  which  have 
been  subjected  by  the  respective  mother  countries  to  different  social  and  economic 
conditions.  Numerous  travellers,  some  acting  on  individual  impulse,  some 
in  their  official  capacity,  have  carefully  studied  many  of  the  river  valleys,  agri- 
cultural and  mining  districts,  and  their  itineraries  have  been  connected  with  those 
of  other  explorers  who  have  traversed  the  whole  region,  either  from  one  slope  to 
the  other,  or  from  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  to  those  of  the  Amazons.  Thanks 
to  these  collective  surveys,  a  general  picture  may  now  be  formed  of  the  physical 
and  biological  features  of  the  Guianas.  , 

Pkogress  of  Discovery  and  Settlement.  /,.,.;> 

Our  first  knowledge  of  the  seaboard  is  due  to  the  Spanish  navigator,  Vicente 
Yafiez  Pinzon,  who  had  accompanied  Columbus  on  his  voyage  of  discovery.  In 
the  year  1500  this  pioneer,  after  coasting  the  shores  of  Brazil  east  of  the  Amazons, 
crossed  the  estuary  and  skirted  the  low-lying  coasts  of  Guiana  as  fur  as  the  Orinoco 
delta.  He  was  followed  by  Diego  de  Lepe  and  other  mariners,  who  explored  the 
same  waters  ;  but  nearly  a  century  passed  before  any  European  settlers  ventured 
to  penetrate  into  the  interior.  v 

A  few  Spaniards  had  already  landed  on  the  coasts  near  the  Orinoco,  when  some 
Dutchmen  attempted  in  1581  to  establish  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Demerara 
and  open  trade  with  the  natives.     Other  pioneers  were  attracted  by  the  love  of 


•■f^ 


';gm»i 


DISCOVERY  AND  SETTLEMENT  OF  GUIANA.  8 

adventure  and  by  the  hope  of  discovering  the  treasures  of  El  Dorado.  In  1596 
the  English  explorer,  Keymis,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in 
the  "  Empire  of  Guuya,"  thut  is,  in  Spanish  Guiana,  went  in  quest  of  the  fictitious 
lake  Manoa,  which  figures  on  Raleigh's  map  as  a  great  sheet  of  water  200  miles 
long,  with  a  city  at  its  eastern  extremity,  reported  to  be  "  the  largest  in  the 
world."  This  map,  for  the  first  time  published  in  1892,*  showa  the  course  of  the 
Orinoco  and  Amazons  rivers,  and  covers  the  whole  continent  from  tbeir  mouths  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Writing  in  1595  to  Lord  CharloR  Howard  on  "  the  disco  .ery  of 
the  large,  rich,  and  beautiful  empire  of  Guaya,"  Sir  Walter  remarks  in  reference 
to  the  map  :  "  How  these  rivers  crosse  and  encounter,  how  the  country  lieth,  and 
is  bordered,  the  passage  of  Camenes,  and  of  Berreo,  mine  own  discoverie,  and  the 
way  that  I  entred,  with  all  the  rest  of  the  nations,  and  rivers,  your  lordship  shall 
receive  in  a  large  chart  or  map,  which  I  have  not  yet  finished,  and  which  I  shall 
most  humbly  pray  your  lordship  to  secret,  and  not  to  suffer  it  to  pass  your  own 
hands ;  for  by  a  draught  thereof  all  may  be  prevented  by  other  nations.  For 
I  know  it  this  very  yeere  sought  by  the  French,  although  by  the  way  they  now 
take  I  fear  it  not  much." 

But  instead  of  taking  the  route  of  the  Orinoco,  Keymis  ascended  the  river 
Oyapok,  which  traverses  the  region  that  has  since  become  French  Guiana.  In 
1688  la  Motte  Aigron  sailed  up  the  same  river  a  distance  of  "  fifty  leagues  "  from 
the  sea,  in  the  vain  hope  of  reaching  the  banks  of  the  Amazons,  and  perhaps  even 
of  discovering  the  route  leading  to  the  famous  region  of  gold  and  precious 
stones. 

So  late  as  1739  the  same  mirage  of  a  city  with  bouses  of  rubies  and  other 
gems  was  still  powerful  enough  to  attract  Nicolas  Hortsmann,  who,  following 
the  course  of  the  Essequibo,  penetrated  far  into  the  interior. 

But  regular  colonisation  had  its  origin  not  in  adventure  but  in  commerce. 
Onre  settled  on  the  Guiana  seaboard,  the  traders  of  various  nationalities  began  to 
struggle  for  the  ascendancy  in  the  conquered  lands,  and  their  respective  Govern- 
ments took  part  in  these  rivalries  by  organising  warlike  or  plundering  expeditions. 
Thanks  to  these  expeditions  a  better  knowledge  was  gradually  acquired  of  the 
more  favoured  districts  on  the  seuboard ;  the  geographical  fi  atures  of  the  coast- 
lands,  estuaries,  and  watercourses  as  far  as  the  first  rapids,  were  more  accurately 
laid  down,  and  some  vague  notions  of  the  inland  regions  were  obtained  from  the 
reports  of  the  Indians  and  of  the  Bush  Negroes. 

In  1672  Richter  made  liis  famous  discovery  of  the  flattening  of  the  globe  at 
its  poles.  Two  years  later  the  Jesuits,  Grillet  and  Bechamel,  were  sent  to  Cayenne 
to  study  the  physical  geography  of  the  country ;  but  after  penetrating  to  the 
territory  of  the  Nurag  and  Acoqua  Indians,  these  pioneers  succumbed  to  the  hard- 
ships of  the  journey.  The  scientific  exploration  of  the  Guianas  was  thus  delayed 
till  the  eighteenth  century,  when  a  beginning  was  made  in  1743  and  1744  by 

•  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Karte  von  Out/ana  nm  1595,  von  L.  Friedrichsen.  Separatabdruck  aus 
FnUehrift  der  Hamburgi»ehen  Amerika-Feier,  1892.  This  is  a  fao-simile  of  the  original  preserved  in  the 
British  Museum.  J    ,;    .'tv     >•:■■   t  •,  ;'„ ,;.; 


I 


BBBT! 


n,»„, .  F.ww.m.".  imis.mmm'*;!!,' ' 


6 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PliATA. 


iK' 


Bttrr^ro  and  by  La  Condiiraine  on  his  return  from  his  memorable  expedition  to 
the  equatorial  Andes. 

Twenty  years  luter  Simon  Montelle  arrived  at  Cayenne,  where  he  sojourned 
under  conditions  of  the  greatest  difficulty  for  thirty- six  years.  During  this 
period  he  visited,  in  his  capacity  as  engineer,  the  whole  of  the  seaboard  of  French 
Ouiana,  and  had  his  advice  been  attended  to,  many  a  disastrous  expedition  would 
have  boon  avoided.  The  same  rogion  was  traversed  in  1762 — 64  by  the  botanist, 
Fusee  Aublet,  whose  work  on  the  Plants  of  Ouinna  is  still  a  standard  book  of 
reference.  In  1787  his  associate,  Patris,  ascended  the  Oyapok  and  its  Camopi 
afHuont,  and  Lcblond,  another  naturalist  of  considerable  intelligence  and  enter- 
prise, followed  nearly  the  same  route,  returning  by  the  riyer  Sinnamari.     He  spent 


\WR' 


ili 


Fig.  2. — Routes  of  the  Chief  Explobebs  of  Guiana. 
Soale  1  :  18,000.000. 


1 
\  "t     -'    -^ — ■     ' 


60- 


West  01   Greenwich 


.  200  MUea. 


several  years  in  exploring  a  great  part  of  the  land,  studying  its  economic  plants, 
searching  especially  for  the  quinquina,  which  he  failed  to  find,  observing  the 
aborigines,  and  developing  projects  for  the  settlement  of  the  uplands. 

Both  in  French  and  Dutch  Guiana  the  engineer  Guisan  constructed  numerous 
navigable  and  drainage  canals,  taking  advantage  of  these  works  to  investigate  the 
character  of  the  soil,  climate,  and  local  products.  Stedman,  an  English  officer  in 
the  Dutch  service,  turned  to  profitable  account  a  residence  of  five  years  (1772-77) 
in  the  interior  of  the  colony  of  Surinam.  He  has  left  us  a  valuable  record  of  his 
travels  and  observations  in  this  region,  as  well  as  an  excellent  history  of  the  wars 
with  the  Bush  Negroes,  in  which  he  was  actively  engaged. 

Later  the  gangs  of  convicts  transported  to  French  Guiana  contributed  to  a 


iSi^mieMm{iiiiai!<mM)i» 


ijnj.jiiif»w<ii!  iiii.  |i  i>,i|in!i,-nw,m;D»)iii,  ■iiiii.<[»m«  m/s-'t 


PROQEESS  OP  OEOORAPHICAL  RESEARCU  IN  GUIANA. 


to  a 


wider  knowledge  of  the  country ;  for  which,  however,  they  earned  the  evil  reputa- 
tion of  a  lund  of  pestilence  and  death.  Of  all  the  educated  exiles  who  eventually 
returned  to  the  mother  country,  not  one  was  found  capable  or  willing  to  prepare  u 
work  of  permanent  value  on  the  lund  of  his  banishment. 

After  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and  of  the  Empire  the  first  voyages  of  discovery 
modelled  on  the  memorable  expeditions  of  Humboldt  and  Boiipland  to  the  New 
World  were  those  undertaken  by  the  brothers  Schomburgk  in  the  years  18y5-y}). 
After  investigating  nearly  the  whole  of  British  Guiana,  these  distinguished  tra- 
vellers crossed  the  mountains  and  connected  their  itineraries  with  those  of  Humboldt 
and  other  explorers  in  the  Orinoco  basin.  In  French  Guiana  the  divide  between 
the  Oyapok,  Yari,  and  Araguari  rivers  had  already  been  crossed  by  Adam  de 
Baiive  in  1830.  Leprieur  hud  traversed  the  same  regions,  descending  the  Yari 
for  a  distance  of  over  fifty  leagues,  while  Gatier  surveyed  the  course  of  the  Mana 
to  its  sources. 

During  the  twenty  years  from  1849  to  1868,  Appun,  friend  and  associate  of 
the  forest  Indians,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  more  especially  of  the  plants  and 
animals  of  exuberant  tropical  nature  in  British  and  Venezuelan  Guianas  ;  the  geolo- 
gists Brown  and  Sawkins  continued  on  the  mainland  as  fur  as  the  Faoaraima 
mountains  the  researches  they  had  successfully  carried  out  in  the  neighbouring 
island  of  Trinidad  ;  Idenburg  occupied  himself  with  the  climatology  and  sanitary 
condition  of  Dutch  Guiana  ;  Crevaux  in  1876  and  Coudroau  in  1883  resumed  the 
work  of  the  Schomburgks  at  other  points  nearer  to  the  Amazons,  thus  connecting 
the  itineraries  of  the  seaboard  with  those  of  the  inland  Brazilian  dupes  in  the  Rio 
Branco  and  Rio  Negro  basins. 

Since  the  year  1883  Everard  im  Thurn  has  been  occupied  with  careful  carto- 
graphic surveys  of  the  disputed  north-western  territory  claimed  by  Groat  Britain 
on  the  Venezuelan  frontier.  Triangulations  are  still  lacking  for  accurate  maps  of 
that  region,  but  we  already  possess  all  the  elements  needed  to  lay  down  with  suffi- 
cient precision  the  course  of  the  ramifying  streams  and  the  relief  of  the  mountains, 
bringing  the  details  into  harmony  with  the  more  scientific  surveys  of  the  coastlands 
and  fluvial  estuaries. 

Of  the  numerous  publications  dealing  with  the  geographical  literature  of  the 
Guianas,  their  populations,  administration,  and  economic  conditions,  some  are  of 
great  value  to  students  of  anthropology  and  political  economy.  Amongst  them  are 
the  writings  of  Eappler  and  Anthony  Trollope,  GifEord  Palgrave's  Dutch  Guiana 
(1876),  and,  above  all,  Everard  im  Thurn' s  classical  work  on  T/te  ludians  of  Guiana 
(1883).  .  . 

Physical  Features — Roraima. 

Between  Venezuela  and  British  Guiana  the  chief  mountain  mass,  forming  the 
natural  frontier  of  both  regions,  is  the  superb  Roraima,  a  square  block  or  table  of 
pink  sandstone,  which  discharges  from  a  height  of  7,500  feet  several  cascades 
blown  into  ribbons  of  spray  by  the  breeze.  The  whole  system  of  mountains,  col-  , 
lectively  known  as  the  Pacaraima  range,  presents  its  loftiest  crests  to  the  west  and 
south-west  in  the  Upper  Rio  Branco  basin.  _  ,.^ 


i 


■s 


lyywpf^i  ".-H»i",ini»ii 


8 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Towardu  the  east,  tbut  is,  in  British  Guiana,  few  of  tho  peaks  and  terraces 
exceed  iifiiH)  feet.  Hut  dcMpite  their  moderate  elevation  these  mountains  present 
un  imposing  aspect,  thanks  to  their  sandstone  walls  rising  hundreds  of  yards  ver- 
tically above  the  surrounding  plains,  their  bare  white  cliffs  forming  a  striking 
background  to  the  tropical  vegetation  which  clothes  the  talus  accumulated  at  their 
base. 

Iloruima  is  continued  north -eastwards  in  the  direction  of  the  Ma/aruni  river 
by  other  qiiadrangular  masses,  which  present  the  appearance  of  citadels  raised  by 
tho  hand  of  num.  The  regular  disposition  of  the  upper  strata,  level  us  tho  surface 
of  the  marine  wafers  in  which  they  were  deposited,  recalls  the  geological  epoch 
when  the  now  deeply  eroded  fuce  of  the  land  presented  tho  aspect  of  a  vast  uniform 
plain  unbroken  by  a  single  undulation  of  the  surface. 


The  Pacaraima  Mountains. 

Carved  by  the  running  waters  into  distinct  sections,  trending  for  the  most  part 
north-west  and  south-east,  the  I'aoaraima  ("  Basket ")  Mountains  gradually  con- 
tract in  the  direction  of  the  east.  Here  they  terminate  on  the  bunks  of  the 
Essequibo  in  a  bold  diorite  bluff  resembling  a  calabash,  whence  its  Indian  name, 
Camuti.  The  unfossiliferous  sandstone  range  is  pierced  here  and  there  by  other 
diorite  masse!).  In  the  depths  of  the  surrounding  forests  is  occasionally  heard  a 
loud  noise  like  a  long  peal  of  thunder,  which  may  probably  be  caused  by  portions 
of  the  vertical  cliffs  from  time  to  time  giving  way  and  falling  with  a  crash.* 

South  of  these  mountains,  which  are  the  highest  on  the  Guiana  slope  of  the 
Atlantic,  follow  other  less  elevated  masses  rising  in  the  middle  of  the  savannas, 
which  appear  to  have  at  one  time  formed  the  bed  of  a  vast  inland  sea  disposed  in 
a  line  parallel  with  the  neighbouring  oceanic  waters.  Cauucu,  Cumucumu,  Cora- 
tamung,  and  the  other  isolated  groups,  which  have  a  meon  ultitude  of  about  2,000 
feet,  formerly  constituted  a  chain  of  crystalline  schist  or  gneiss  islands  disposed  in 
the  same  direction  as  the  Pacaraima  range. 

Further  south  other  ridges  of  like  formation  run  east  and  west  between  the 
Essequibo  and  the  copious  Takutu  affluent  of  the  Rio  Branco.  These  eminences 
rise  above  alluvial  lands,  which  at  some  i-emote  epoch  were  also  flooded  by  lacus- 
trine waters.  In  several  places  the  parting  line  between  the  Atlantic  and 
Amazonian  basins  is  indicated  by  no  perceptible  rising  ground,  and,  according  to 
Brown,  this  low-lying  divide  has  an  absolute  elevation  of  not  more  than  348  or 
350  feet.  One  of  its  depressions  is  flooded  by  the  little  Lake  Amuku,  which  lies 
on  the  zone  of  separation  between  the  Pirara,  a  sub-affluent  of  the  Tukutu,  and  the 
Rupununi  tributary  of  the  Essequibo.  Hence  in  this  region  of  savannas  the 
passage  from  one  slope  to  the  other  is  extremely  easy,  and  has  been  followed  at 
all  times  by  the  Indian  tribes  in  their  migrations  between  the  Amazonian  and 
Atlantic  watersheds. 

The  absence  of  natural  frontiers  between  the  Essequibo  and  Amazons  basins 

-,••■-••-■,.  ■■  '   ■   . 
*  Charles  Barrington  Brown,  Canot  and  Camp  Lift  in  Briiiih  Ouiana, 


^&Saim-»immsMmiSk.-' 


~^ 


'm^S  f*; 


||IW.ti»li|||>lli(JI(l"lll^ll|„,ll 


nrt  IN    II  'I'l.i 


THE  OUIANA  UPLANDS.  9 

uIno  iirconviis  for  tho  tlifTnreiicoH  tlmt  huvo  itriHoii  botwoon  the  Oovommonts  of 
Grviit  Rrifain  uiul  H^'ii/il  rcf^urditig  tlio  limitH  of  their  roH{M<ctivo  <loinuiiiH  uhout 
tho  sources  of  the  KsseiiuitM)  >iii(l  llio  llranco  uflliieiitN.  The  whoh)  of  the  dividiii)^ 
Kuue  8Jllt«timcB  tiil.<t-<  the  name  of  the  River  I'aririt,  a  word  of  Mueusi  origioi 
whicli,  uueording  to  Schotiibar^k,  indicutos  the  geohigieul  coustltution  of  the 
land — a  ferrtigituMiH  cuiij^Iomenito.  Abuve  the  wutor-piirtirig  riHCn  u  column  of 
trap  formutioa,  whioh  in  regurded  on  a  sacrod  object  by  tlie  suirounding  Maousi 
Indians. 

A  few  other  isolated  groups  follow  southwards  us  far  as  the  neighbourhood 
of  tho  sources  of  tho  Ksseciuibo,  which  stand  at  an  altitude  of  about  K20  feet. 
TIero  the  heights,  glimpses  of  whiuh  are  at  rare  intervals  obtained  from  the  river 
banks  across  the  dense  foliage  of  the  primeval  woodlands,  do  not  diwelop  a  con- 
tinuous amphitheatre  of  rounded  hills,  but  form  a  number  of  distinct  ridges 
sharply  defined  by  deep  transverse  gorges.  They  constitute  so  many  "  huge 
blocks,  some  of  which  have  a  length  of  about  i)0  miles,  standing  on  very  low 
pi'dostals  of  plateau  formation."  * 

According  to  Coudreau,  tho  loftiest  summit  in  this  region  is  Coirrit,  or 
Cairrid  Dckeuou  (Brown's  Acarai),  the  "Mountain  of  the  Moon,"  which  lies 
near  the  sources  of  tho  Takutu,  and  attains  an  altitude  of  about  5.000  feet.  It 
i8  the  culminating  peak  of  a  ridge  with  a  mean  elevation  of  some  8,000  feet, 
which  sweeps  round  in  a  vast  bend  Brst  to  the  south  and  then  to  the  cast,  as  far 
as  Mount  Aourriawa,  where  rise  the  headwaters  of  the  Essequibo.  Farther  on 
are  developed  the  Curucuri  heights,  seen  from  a  distance  by  Coudreau.  Here 
the  water-parting  coincides  exactly  with  the  crest  of  the  mountain  range.  On 
one  side  descend  the  streams  flowing  to  the  Eusequibo,  on  the  other  those 
flowing  to  the  Trombetas  affluent  of  the  Amazons. 

The  sierra  falls  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  where  it  forms  the  natural 
boundary  between  Dutch  Guiana  and  Brazil.  According  to  Brown,  the  highest 
summits  rise  scarcely  300  feet  above  the  sources  of  the  River  Corentyne,  which 
forms  the  frontier  line  between  Dutch  and  British  Guiana. 


The  TuMi'c-HuMAc  Rangk. 

Farther  on  the  system  again  rises,  and  here  takes  the  name  of  the  Tumuc- 
Humac  range,  a  term  of  unknown  meaning.  From  its  northern  slopes  descends 
the  Maroni,  the  chief  watercourse  of  French  Guiuna.  According  to  Coudreau, 
its  highest  summit  is  j\lount  Timotakem  (2,624  feet),  which  lies  in  the  western 
section  of  the  range.  Few  of  the  travellers  that  have  visited  this  mountainous 
region  have  laid  down  accurate  itineraries  of  their  routes,  and  hitherto  (1894) 
Coudreau  is  the  only  explorer  who  has  mapped  tho  main  range  with  any  approach 
to  accuracy.  It  is  all  the  more  difficult  to  determine  its  exact  form  and  trend 
that  all  the  slopes,  as  well  as  the  intermediate  valleys,  are  clothed  with  a  con- 
tinuous mantle  of  dense  woodlands.  I.  ,,   .-i    .  -^.■".--■■-.■'^^■■'  - 

None  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  crests  are  lofty  enough  to  rise  above  the  zone  of 

*  Henri  A,  Condre^n,  la  Franct  JSguinoxiait. 


^..'■'l'^'-'!'"-i''''TH'"''.'.'.'t'i'> 


10 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


tropical  vegetation  ;  hence  the  same  species  occur  on  their  slopes  and  summits  as 
on  the  surrounding  plains,  and  their  thickets  everywhere  present  the  same 
obstacles  to  the  progress  of  the  wayfarer.  The  winter  fogs  also,  which  creep  up 
to  the  highest  summits,  make  all  observations  almost  impossible. 

Of  two  hundred  pet.kfl  scaled  by  Coudreau  not  more  than  three  rise  above  the 
forest  vegetation,  so  that  from  these  alone  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  complete 
view  of  the  horizon  and  to  follow  the  outlines  of  the  surrounding  heights.  Of 
these  natural  observatories  the  finest  appears  to  be  Mitaraca,  a  summit  1,900  feet 
high,  terminating  in  a  bare  granite  cone,  which  affords  not  a  single  tuft  of  grass 
to  help  tlie  climber  and  gave  him  from  a  dangerous  fall.     Nevertheless,  Coudreau 


ikr,--- 


Fig   3.— TuMuo-HuMAo  MoxntTAiKa. 
Scale  1  :  3,400,000. 


West  oP  Grwifiwich 


.  80  Miles. 


assures  us  that  the  ascent  and  the  unrivalled  prospect  commanded  by  Mitaraca  is 
worth  the  journey  from  Paris  to  the  Guianas."  * 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  Tumuc-Humac  range  is  disposed  in  the  direction  of 
the  east  by  south,  parallel  with  the  section  of  the  coast  comprised  between  the 
Maroni  and  Oyapok  estuaries.  In  the  western  region  the  system  develops  two 
distinct  chains  separated  by  an  intervening  space  of  some  25  miles.  In  the 
northern  chain  rises  the  Mitaraca  "  belvedere,"  while  the  culminating  peaks, 
Timotakem  and  Temomairem,  dominate  the  southern  ridge. 

Towards  the  east  the  two  chains  are  connected  by  transverse  offshoots,  and 
towards  the  north  they  throw  off  ramifying  ridges,  which  enclose  the  Maroni 
basin  and  separate  it  from  that  of  the  Oyapok.  Farther  on  the  eastern  section 
of  the  system  is  prolonged  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  without,  however,  forming 
u  continuous  divide  between  the  river  valleys. 

*  £(ude  de  la  cfiaine  det  monts  TumucSumac  ;  MS.  "Homoix. 


':'-^r 


■'■■'i^k»i!ii>miii^»'^)mm!iiimM'fmm-- 


iflilr'^l'  '...•Jt;,:,' .,'^    , 


THE  GUIANA  UPLANDS. 


11 


ks. 


,  and 
aroni 


iBection 
)rmiug 


At  their  eastern  extremity  the  Tumuc-IIumac  mountaino  ramify  like  the  ribs 
of  a  fan  towards  the  north-east,  the  east  and  south-east,  but  retain  the  aspect  of 
distinct  ridges  only  above  the  low-lying  marshy  tracts.  About  the  sources  of  the 
Oyapok  between  these  ridges  the  water-partings  are  so  indistinct  that  the  channels 
of  the  Oyapok,  Cachipour,  Araguari,  and  even  of  the  Yari  affluent  of  the  Amazons, 
are  all  connected  during  the  rainy  season  by  continuous  chains  of  meres  and 
lagoons.  These  shallow  expanses,  however,  are  unnaviguble  and  inaccessible  even 
to  the  canoes  of  the  surrounding  Indian  tribes. 

In  that  section  of  the  Guianas  which  is  comprised  between  the  southern 
uplands  and  the  seacoast,  there  nowhere  occur  any  heights  forming  continuous 
chains  of  mountains  or  hills.  Here  all  the  rising  grounds  are  broken  by  the 
fluvial  valleys  into  separate  ridges  of  short  length,  such  as  the  so-called 
"  Montague  Fran^aise "  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Maroni ;  the  Magnetic 
Mountain  (715  feet)  towards  the  south-east  between  the  Inini  and  Mana  rivers; 
and  the  granitic  Mount  Leblond  (1,335  feet),  towards  the  sources  of  the  Sinnamari. 

Near  the  shore  the  eminences  are  for  the  most  part  nieriely  isolated  masses  of 
gneiss,  schists,  or  sandstone  ranging  in  height  from  300  to  720  feet.  Formerly 
washed  by  the  marine  waves,  they  are  now  surrounded  by  alluvial  matter  deposited 
in  the  marine  waters.  One  line  of  beach  after  another  was  here  laid  down, 
enclosing  the  old  islands  and  archipelagoes,  which  are  now  to  be  sought  in  the 
interior  of  the  Continent. 

In  French  Guiana  nothing  is  seen  along  the  seaboard  except  a  few  rocky 
prominences  on  the  beach  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coast.  North-west  of  Cayenne 
a  few  bluffs  stand  out  near  Mana,  Iracoubo,  Sinnamari,  and  Kourou.  South-east 
of  the  capital  stretch  the  hills  of  Caux,  whose  French  nume,  as  spelt  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  has  been  altered  to  the  English  form  Kaw.  This  range  of  coast 
hills  culminates  in  Mount  Matouri  (836  feet),  in  the  "Tour  de  I'lle,"  south  of 
Cayenne.  Mount  Argent,  serving  as  a  landmark  to  mariners  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Oyapok,  is  a  mere  hillock  scarcely  300  feet  high. 

The  district  known  as  the  "  island  of  Cayenne,"  though  separated  from  the 
mainland  only  by  a  few  marshy  channels,  is  also  studded  with  knolls  representing 
former  islands  now  connected  by  sedimentary  deposits.  Such  are  Cabassou 
dominating  the  capital,  and  farther  east  the  Reraire  "  Mountains,"  which  were 
formerly  called  volcanoes.  The  neighbouring  depressions  where  rise  the  springs 
which  supply  Cayenne  with  water  were  similarly  regarded  as  old  "  craters." 

Along  the  coast  occur  a  few  rocky  islets,  of  which  the  most  important, 
thanks  to  its  deep  anchorage,  is  the  Salut  Archipelago  ;  further  east  are  the  Enfant 
Perdu ;  the  Malingre,  Pere,  M^ro  and  Maraelles,  all  disposed  in  a  chain  parallel 
with  the  shore  ;  lastly,  farther  seaward,  the  two  Conn^tables  facing  the  mouth  of 
the  Approuague,  upheaved  peaks  of  a  submarine  plateau.         ; 

Rivers  of  Guiana — The  Essequibo  Basin. 

The  Essequibo  (Essequebo),  largest  of  all  the  Guiana  rivers,  flows  entirely  in 
British  territory  ;  but  the  Cuyuni,  one  of  its  chief  affluents,  takes  its  rise  beyond 


12 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


the  Venezuelan  frontier.  The  main  stream,  like  all  the  other  watercoursea  of 
this  region,  appears  to  bear  a  native  name,  in  which  the  final  syllable  bo  indicates 
direction  in  the  Galibi  group  of  languages ;  hence  Essequi-bo  would  have  the 
sense  of  "  Kssoqui-wards,"  in  the  direction  of  the  Essequi.  Nevertheless,  Schom- 
burgk  refers  to  a  legend  which  attributes  the  origin  of  this  name  to  Don 
Juan  Esscquibel  or  Juizquibel,  one  of  Diego  Columbus's  companions.*  Formerly 
the  difEerent.  sections  of  this  great  watercourse  bore  different  native  names.  In 
the  coast  region,  where  it  develops  a  broad  estuary,  the  surrounding  populations 
called  it  the  Arauaunia,  while  the  main  branch  was  designated  Chip  Wa,  that  is, 
Chip  River,  by  the  Wapisianas  and  the  neighbouring  tribes.  It  would  appear  to 
communicate  with  the  upper  Trombetas,  an  Amazonian  affluent,  through  the 
Apini,  a  river  which,  like  the  Cassiquiare,  is  said  to  have  a  double  incline.  . 

Rising  in  the  Awarriwa  mountain,  the  Essequibo,  which  has  a  somewhat 
shorter  course  than  that  figured  on  the  English  maps  of  Schomburgk  and 
lirown,  flows  first  north-eastwards  through  the  forest  inhabited  by  a  few  groups 
of  the  Chiiiu  and  Taruma  Indians.  Farther  on  it  is  joined  by  the  Yaore,  which 
flows  in  a  winding  course  eastwards  through  the  uninhabited  wilderness  border- 
ing on  the  savannas.  A  human  figure  carved  on  the  face  of  the  rock  near  a 
cascade  on  the  Yaore  is  said  by  the  Indian  boatmen  to  be  a  portrait  of  Schomburgk 
sculptured  by  the  explorer  himself,  whose  name  has  remained  famous  amongst 
the  natives ;  but  the  eflSgy  is  too  rudely  drawn  to  accept  this  legend. 

Below  the  Yaore  confluence  the  Essequibo  bends  gradually  round  to  tho 
north.  Here  its  bed  is  still  in  process  of  formation ;  the  stream,  interrupted  by 
numerous  rocky  barriers,  descends  from  reach  to  reach  through  a  succession  of 
cataracts.  One  of  these,  bearing  the  loyal  but  somewhat  eccentric  name  of  "  King 
William  the  Fourth's  Fall,"  long  marked  the  limit  of  legitimate  trading  operations 
on  the  upper  course  of  the  Essequibo.  None  ventured  beyond  this  point  except 
the  kidnappers  who  went  to  capture  slaves  for  the  planters  of  the  coaltlands. 

Numerous  affluents  follow  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Essequibo,  whose  basin 
broadens  out  towards  the  west  and  contracts  to  very  narrow  limits  towards  the 
east,  from  which  direction  it  consequently  receives  only  a  few  slight  contributions. 
The  Cuyuwini,  which  collects  the  surface  waters  of  the  western  savannas,  is  suc- 
ceeded lower  down  by  the  Rupunini,  which  is  itself  joined  on  its  right  bank  by  the 
copious  river  Rewa  some  miles  above  the  confluence  with  tho  main  stream.  The 
whitish  current  of  this  affluent,  which  mingles  with  the  black  water  of  the  Esse- 
quibo, offers  a  navigable  route  towards  the  west  utilised  by  the  native  boatmen  to 
reach  the  Amazons  basin  through  Lake  Amuku  and  the  Pirara  river.  The  only 
interruption  to  the  waterway  between  the  two  systems  is  a  single  portage,  Avhich 
is  reduced  to  about  half  a  mile  in  length  during  the  rainy  reason. 

During  this  period  the  flood  waters  overflow  in  both  directions,  on  one  side  to 
the  Rupunini,  on  the  other  to  the  slope  drained  by  the  headstreams  of  the  Rio 
Branco.  A  great  part  of  this  district  about  the  divide  between  the  Essequibo  and 
Amazons  basins  is  occupied  by  savannas,  which  would  appear  to  have  formerly 

*  Bobert  A.  Schomburgk,  Description  of  British  Ouiana.     Hakluyt  calls  the  river  Detsekeie.      '  • 


;y»ii?^,:iv'Wt/i:''<;W;'»ij<Ji>Ji^  i. . i^i  ■.luj,,  hmhilj  ,,  j.iiiiiifrt«||i;M| 


filVERS  OF  GUIANA. 


18 


been  the  bed  of  an  extunsive  lacustrine  depression,  probably  the  great  inland  sea 
celebrated  in  legend  as  the  Lake  rarima  where  dwelt  the  "Man  of  Gold."     A 


Fig.  4.— KAUixim  Falls. 


tradition  still  survives  amongst  the  natives  that  the  bed  of  the  little  Lake  Amuku, 
scarcely  more  than  a  flooded  mere,  is  "  entirely  lined  with  gold."  * 
•  Gustavo  da  Saokov,  Geographical  Journal,  March,  1893. 


r-r^"^"^ 


^  <\    ^'  ••  jj^j.    y-r^'jsr''^ '>■»'*"'' 


u 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


I^M< 


The  Potaro  and  the  Kaieteur  Falls, 

Lower  down  the  Essequibo  is  joined  by  the  Burroburro  nnd  Potaro  rivers,  both 
flowing  from  the  foothills  of  the  Pacaraima  uplands,  and  in  their  descent  tumbling 
over  numerous  cascades  and  rapids.     The  Kaieteur  Falls,  formed  by  the  waters  of 

Fig.  5. — EssEouiBo  AND  UpFEB  Rio  Branco  Basins. 
Scale  1  :  T.OOO.OUO, 


nepth", 


Bapids  or 
CaniraoU. 


0to6 
Fittboms. 


6  to  26 
Fathoms, 


26  FHthoms 
Mud  upwardi. 


,  126  Miles 


the  Potaro  about  the  middle  of  its  course,  are  amongst  the  finest  in  Guiana  and 
even  in  the  whole  world.  Yet  their  very  existence  was  absolutely  unknown  to 
Europeans  till  the  year  1871,  when  they  were  discovered  by  Mr.  C.  Barrington 
Brown,  at  that  time  engaged  on  a  geological  survey  of  the  British  Colony.    Here 


■T5r«5i"  Wj?Mi.''jfTi  --^a-ri  ■ 


i4>'»'>ii,ii>ttW»"'"i' 


RIVERS  OF  GUIANA. 


IS 


the  Potaro  is  precipitated  over  an  abrupt  cliff  741  feet  high,  and  at  flood  wafer 
the  full  is  370  feet  wide,  decreasing  at  lo.v  water  to  rather  less  than  half  that 
width.  During  the  rainy  season  Mr.  im  Thuru  compares  the  spectacle  to  a 
vast  curtain  of  water  nearly  400  feet  wide  rolling  over  the  top  of  the  cliff,  and 
retaining  its  full  width  until  it  crashes  into  the  boiling  water  of  the  pool  which 
tills  the  whole  space  below  ;  but  of  the  pool  itself  only  the  outer  margin  is  visible, 
the  greater  part  being  ceaselessly  tossed  and  hurled  up  in  a  great  and  high  muss 
of  surf,  foam,  and  spray.  The  floor  of  the  amphitheatre  over  which  the  Potaro 
tumbles  "  is  occupied  by  a  waste  of  fallen  rocks,  made  black  by  constant  moisture, 
but  capped  with  short,  intensely  green  grass,  except  round  the  dark  stormy  pool, 
where  the  rocks  are  entirely  bare,  slippery,  and  black.  Immediately  behind  the 
fall  a  huge  dark  cave  is  visible  in  the  cliff,  the  upper  edge  of  the  cliff  serving  as 
a  horizon  to  the  whole  scene  when  viewed  from  below."  * 

Lower  down  the  Potaro  continues  still  to  descend  as  from  step  to  step  through 
a  series  of  romantic  cascades.  Formerly  the  great  fall,  at  that  time  over  1,000 
feet  high,  stood  some  15  miles  farther  down ;  but  by  incessantly  eating  away  the 
sandstone  plateau  over  which  it  is  hurled  down  to  the  plain,  it  has  gradually 
retreated  while  diminishing  in  height.  The  cornice  of  rocks  from  which  the  river 
is  precipitated  consists  of  a  hard  conglomerate  overlying  a  more  friable  sandstone. 
This  sandstone  is  incessantly  eroded  by  the  seething  waters  of  the  pool,  detaching 
huge  blocks  from  time  to  time,  and  excavating  a  dark  recess  beneath  the  over- 
hanging edge  of  the  plateau.  At  sunset  myriads  of  swallows,  gathering  from  the 
surrounding  woodlands,  sweep  the  precipice,  dart  like  a  flash  into  the  misty  spray, 
and  then  reappear  at  the  mouth  of  the  cuve.  Such  is  the  rapidity  of  their  flight 
that  "  their  wings  produce  a  hissing  noise,  which  is  not  the  least  curious  pheno- 
menon of  this  wonderful  place.  After  descending  straight  down  they  settle  for 
the  night  on  the  face  of  the  cliff,  by  and  behind  the  fall."  t 


la  and 
|)wn  to 
rington 
Here 


The  Mazaruni  and  Lower  Essequibo. 

Below  the  Potaro  affluent  the  Essequibo  is  almost  doubled  in  volume  by  the 
contributions  of  the  Mazaruni,  which  is  itself  joined  by  the  Cuyuni  eight  miles 
above  their  common  mouth  on  the  left  bank  of  the  mainstream.  Rising  on  the 
highest  slopes  of  the  Pacaraima  Mountains,  where  it  receives  the  streams  tumbling 
from  Boraima,  the  Mazaruni  is  of  all  the  Guiana  rivers  the  most  obstructed  by 
cataracts.  The  falls  and  rapids  occur  especially  in  the  lower  part  of  its  course, 
so  that,  despite  its  great  volume,  this  river  is  almost  entirely  closed  to  navigation. 

At  the  falls  of  Chichi,  that  is,  the  "  Sun,"  in  the  Macusi  language,  the  fluvial 
bed  descends  a  total  height  of  890  feet  (1,380  to  490)  in  a  space  of  about  eight 
miles.  The  last  obstructions  occur  at  the  so-called  "  Monkey  Jump,"  some  15 
miles  above  the  point  where  the  Mazaruni  is  joined  by  the  Cuyuni. 

Below  the  confluence  of  the  Mazaruni,  the  Essequibo  expands  into  a  broad 
estuary,  which  attains  a  width  of  no  less  than  15  miles  where  it  enters  the  sea. 

•  Amony  t/ie  Iiultani  nf  6utana,Tf,  6i.  .  -^    ■ 

t  lb. 


16 


AMAZOMA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


But  this  great  expanse  is  broken  and  divided  into  three  main  navigable  branches 
by  a  number  of  islands,  whose  long  axes  are  disposed  in  the  same  direction  as  the 
tidal  currents. 

The  enormous  volume  of  water  which  is  discharged  by  the  Essequibo,  and 
which  makes  itself  felt  at  a  distance  of  some  twelve  miles  seawards,  is  explained 
by  the  great  extent  of  its  catchment  basin,  combined  with  an  abundant  rainfall 
and  the  impermeable  character  of  the  si)il.  During  the  winter  season  the  upper 
reaches,  dammed  up  by  their  rocky  barriers,  overflow  their  banks  in  many  places, 
thus  periodically  restoring  the  chain  of  lakes  which  at  one  time  existed  in  the 
fluviul  valley. 

The  Demerara,  BERiutE,  and  Corextyne. 

The  Demerara  (Demerari),  formerly  Lemdrare,  flows  east  of  and  parallel  to 
the  Essequibo  with  such  regularity  that  it  might  almost  be  taken  for  a  lateral 
channel,  into  which  were  formerly  discharged  the  flood  waters  of  some  stream 
rivalling  the  Amazons  itself  in  magnitude.  Rising  amid  the  northern  spurs  of 
the  dividing  range,  the  Demerara  traverses  the  same  geological  formations  as  the 
Essequibo,  first  granite  masses,  then  sandstones  with  diorites  cropping  out  at) 
various  points,  and  towards  the  coast  broad  alluvial  tracts  strewn  here  and  there 
with  sandhills  from  50  to  GO  f£et  high.  Sluggish  channels  and  backwaters  ramify 
eastwards,  connecting  the  Demerara  with  the  Mahaica,  a  river  of  similar  aspect, 
but  of  much  smaller  volume. 

The  Berbice  and  the  Coreutyne  (Corentijn),  which  follow  in  the  direction  of 
the  east,  also  flow  in  parallel  courses  quite  as  regular  as  those  of  the  Essequibo  and  De- 
merara. They  develop  the  same  curves  and  have  to  surmount  the  same  obstructions 
by  cascades  tumbling  over  rocky  granite,  diorite,  or  sandstone  barriers.  But  they 
vary  considerably  in  length,  the  Berbice  rising  far  in  advance  of  the  dividing 
range,  whereas  the  Corentyne  has  its  source  in  the  Curucuri  mountains  away  to 
the  south.  The  latter  is  already  a  copious  stream  at  the  point  where  it  pierces  the 
rocky  hills,  in  which  its  western  neighbour  the  Berbice  takes  its  rise. 

In  this  district  the  Corentyne  is  joined  on  its  left  bank  by  the  New  Biver, 
through  a  labyrinth  of  i-amifying  branches,  and  below  the  confluence  the  united 
waters  descend  to  the  plains  through  a  series  of  superb  falls  and  rapids.  To  one 
of  these,  Robert  Schomburgk  gave  the  name  of  King  Frederick  William  the  • 
Fourth,  as  to  the  corresponding  cataract  of  the  Essequibo,  which  lies  under  the  same 
latitude,  and  which  presents  the  same  general  aspect  amid  its  rugged  granite  walls. 

The  Corentyne  develops  another  grand  fall  at  the  crystalline  rocks  of  Wonotobo, 
where  three  or  four  branches  ramifying  into  several  chan'^  .?^«  aro  precipitated 
from  a  heipht  of  about  100  feet  into  a  lake  about  a  mile  ».ido,  from  "vhich  it 
issues  in  a  single  stream  about  1,000  feet  broad  and  80  feet  deep.  Beyond  this 
point  the  Corentyne  is  entirely  free  from  rapids  for  the  rest  of  its  course  of  some 
170  miles  to  the  sea.  But  its  broad  estuary,  studded  with  islands,  reefs,  and  shoals, 
is  of  difficult  access,  and  practically  closed  to  vessels  drawing  more  than  10  feet 
of  water. 


l||l 


WtUHtltUBSSimm^t'^miw 


-TTTr' 


-4y'y.'fw*',jw)i'  w'  »r- 


"tt"?*'"""^'  f  '/'■' 


'*<?*f*W 


RIVERS  OF  GUIANA. 


17 


.  .-r  -"^^^ 


The  Coast  Strkams  of  Dimch  Giiana. 

This  ehtuary  also  receives  the  discharge  of  the  River  Nickerie  from  the  east. 
The  Nickerie  may  be  tuken  as  a  type  of  the  coast  streams  of  Dutch  Guiana, 
developing  an  irregular  but  continuous  current,  which  winds  sluggishly  from  east 
to  west  through  the  low- lying  alluvial  plains.  Some  of  the  rivers  rising  farther 
inland  on  the  advanced  terraces  of  the  dividing  range  are  intercepted  on.  their 
course  to  the  Atlantic  by  these  coast  streams,  whose  volume  they  swell,  while 
deflecting  them  to  the  east  or  to  the  west,  according  to  the  abundance  of  their 
discharge  or  the  incline  of  the  land.  Thus  the  Upper  Nickerie  and  the  Coppe- 
name  alter  joining  the  coast  stream  continue  their  seaward  course  in  opposite 
directions,  while  between  the  two  winds  a  channel  whose  current  sets  alternately 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left  according  to  the  strength  of  the  river  descending  from 
the  interior. 

East  of  the  Coppename  follow  the  Coesewijne  and  the  Sarumacca,  which  do 
not  communicate  directly  with  the  Coppename  or  its  ramifying  creeks,  although 
they  fall  into  the  same  estuary.  The  lower  course  of  the  Saramacca,  flowing  from 
east  to  west,  cuts  off  a  strip  of  c  lastland,  partly  bush  and  partly  swamp,  which 
has  been  completely  isolated  in  the  direction  of  the  east  as  far  as  the  Surinam 
estuary  by  an  old  creek  canalised  in  the  seventeenth  centurj'  by  the  famous 
Governor  Sommelsdyke,  and  still  known  as  the  Sommelsdyke  Canal. 

East  of  the  Surinnm,  whose  bar  is  accessible  at  ebb  tide  to  vessels  drawing  16 
feet  of  water,  the  bush  and  marshy  coastlands  present  towards  the  sea  a  long  low- 
lying  beach  of  scarcely  perceptible  curve,  and  towards  the  interior  au  intricate 
system  of  tortuous  rivers  and  creeks  with  alternating  currents.  Here  and  there 
these  watercourses  have  been  transformed  to  regular  navigable  canals,  largely 
utilised  by  the  boats  and  canoes  of  planters  and  natives.  Thus  follow  from  west 
to  east  between  the  Surinam  and  the  Maroni  on  the  French  frontier,  the  Comme- 
wijne,  Cottica,  Coerraoeribo  (Ccrmontibo),  and  the  Wana  or  Wane  Creek. 

The  tendency  of  all  the  watercourses  in  this  part  of  Guiana  to  set  in  a  direc- 
tion parallel  with  the  coast,  as  well  as  the  deposit  of  rich  alluvial  matter  between 
the  watercourses  themselves  and  the  present  shore -line,  cannot  be  explained 
merely  by  the  action  of  the  periodical  floods.  On  the  contrary,  the  ocean  plays  the 
chief  part  in  the  production  of  these  phenomena.  The  liquid  masses  rolled  down 
by  the  Amazons  and  the  Tocuntins  do  not  precipitate  all  their  sediment  in  the 
great  "fresh-water"  estuary.  Being  intercepted  by  the  marine  current,  the 
fluvial  waters  are  deflected  along  the  shores  of  the  Guiunas  as  fur  as  the  Orinoco, 
beyond  which  a  portion  penetrates  through  the  Sarpent's  Mouth  into  the  Gulf  of 
Paria. 

Thus  the  alluvial  matter  brought  down  by  the  great  Brazilian  rivers  is  dis- 
tributed along  the  Guiana  seaboard,  and  in  this  way  beach  after  beach  is  succes- 
sively added  to  the  continental  periphery.  Most  of  these  new  formations  become 
merged  in  a  continuous  low-lying  coastland,  but  their  regular  successive  growth 
is  still  shown  by  the  intermediate  creeks  disposed  parallel  with  the  shore-line. 
The  fluvial  waters  of  the  interior,  arrested    by  the  opposing   marine  current, 


warn 


WPViil,Ji,«^."lil"' 


18 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


%:<' 


ii'ii 
fill 


uro  ceaselessly  deflected  westwards,  so  as  to  flow  parallel  with  the  ocean  stream 
itself.  The  alluvial  tracts  of  pcuinsulur  formation  are  thus  extended  to  great 
distances  between  the  coast  streams  and  the  sea,  until  some  weak  point  hero  and 
there  suddenly  yields  to  the  action  of  some  fierce  storm  or  of  an  exceptionally 
high  inundation. 

In  thi.s  way  has  been  formed  the  whole  const  system  of  Dutch  Guiana,  with 
its  perfectly  distinct  double  shore-line,  that  may  be  traced  all  the  way  from  the 
Corentyne  to  the  Maroni.  These  tracts  of  oceanic  origin  are  still  more  clearly 
indicated  in  that  district  of  British  Guiana  which  lies  immediately  to  the  east  of 
the  Orinoco  delta,  and  the  possession  of  which  is  contested  by  Venezuela.  Here 
the  Pomerun  river,  which  reaches  the  sea  at  Cape  Nassau,  the  Waini  (Guainia), 
the  Ihiriraa,  and  the  Amacurti  all  intersect  so  many  strips  of  the  seaboard  that 
have  been  built  up  by  the  deposition  of  sedimentary  matter  in  the  shallow  waters 
beyond  the  primitive  continental  contour -line. 

Palgrave,  a  careful  observer  of  the  hydrographic  system  of  Dutch  Guiana, 
describes  the  rivers  of  that  region  as  its  true  highways,  "  traced  right  and  left  with 
matchless  profusion  by  Nature  herself.  Broad  and  deep,  tidal  too  for  miles  up 
thoir  course,  but  with  scarcely  any  variation  in  the  fulness  of  their  mighty  flow, 
summer  or  winter,  rainy  season  or  dry,  so  constant  is  the  water  supply  from  its 
common  origin,  the  equatorial  mountain  chain.  They  give  easy  access  to  the 
innermost  recesses  of  the  vast  regions  beyond,  east,  west,  and  south  ;  and  where 
th^ir  tortuous  windings  and  multiplied  side  canals  fail  to  reach,  Batavian  industry 
and  skill  have  made  good  the  want  by  canals,  straighter  in  course,  and  often 
hnrdly  inferior  in  navigable  capacity  to  the  mother  rivers  themselves.  On  the 
skeleton  plain,  so  to  spoak,  of  this  mighty  system  of  water  communication,  the 
entire  cultivation  of  the  interior  has  been  naturally  adjusted  ;  and  the  estates  of 
Surinam  are  ranged  one  after  another  along  the  margin  of  rivers  and  canals,  just 
as  farms  might  be  along  highways  and  byeways  in  Germany  or  Hungary.  Sub- 
servient to  the  waterways,  narrow  land-paths  follow  the  river  or  trench,  by  which 
not  every  estate  alpne,  but  every  sub-division  of  an  estate,  every  acre  almost  is 
defined  and  bordered,  while  the  smaller  dykes  and  canals  are  again  crossed  by 
wooden  bridges,  maintained  in  careful  repair  ;  but  paths  and  bridges  alike  are  of 
a  width  and  solidity  adapted  to  footmen  only,  or  at  best  to  horsemen.  The 
proper  carriage  road  is  the  river  or  cixnal."* 

The  Makoxi,  Awa,  and  Oyapok. 

The  Maroni,  the  Marowijn  of  the  Dutch,  takes  the  foremost  position  amongst 
the  secondary  watercourses  of  the  Guiunas  between  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazons. 
Its  ramifying  headstreams  cover  a  space  of  nearly  200  miles,  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  Mountains,  between  the  Corentyne  and  Oyapok  basins 
west  and  east.  At  present  the  larger  portion  of  this  drainage  area  belongs  to 
Holland,  the  whole  of  the  tract  lying  between  the  two  main  branches  of  the  Awa 
(Lawa)  and  the  Tapanahoni  having  been  attributed  to  Dutch  Guiana  by  the 

*  Dutch  Guiana,  p.  71-2. 


■^'.^y^X-*^''^-^-"- ;  A^'.'iVi.  t!'.'*- 


'  '^^i^lt)^'' 


"■'1  ''^"'l Jjpwlgj'- i^yi'J^''^^' '.*' nw' f'-'ff} *"■  I* '  f'.'f *i'.' 


""^f^ 


RIVERS  OF  GUIANA. 


le 


(leciaioii  oF  the  Tsur,  to  whom  the  question  in  dispntu  hud  been  referred  in 
1891. 

The  Awa  or  eaatern  branch,  which  now  serve  s  the  boundary  between  the 
conterminous  colonies,  is  supposed  to  be  tlie  more  copious  of  the  two  hcudstroams, 
although  the  Tupanahuui  has  the  greater  winter  discharge.  Both  Crevaux  and 
Cuudreuu  were  uble  to  ascund  the  Awa  in  bouts  for  a  distance  of  over  <'J00  miles. 
It  has  still  a  width  of  GO  or  70  feet  at  the  farthest  point  reached  by  Coudreau  on 
the  Itoni,  that  is,  the  brunch  which  serves  as  th*:'  international  frontier,  and  whoso 
junction  with  the  Murouiui  farther  east  forms  the  Awa.  Immediately  beyond 
this  point  begin  the  first  rising  grounds  and  steep  foothills  of  the  Tumuc-IIumuc 
range. 

Despite  its  great  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  the  fluvial  bed  at  the  confluence 

Figf.   6.— SotTBOES  OP  THE  OyaPOK. 
Scale  1  :  UBO.OOO. 


..-m..-  ••••;;#^.--<  :•.••■••.•.  •••.....  •••..•••.■•.•.  •i><^^^T^^•^■•; 


:  •ii'--::-^^ '■•:■:■:■  ■■/:.■ 
•fv.'V"  ••?'.••>•'".•.••.'.■'.: 

•  .•:Vj«'.><i' *•■.*-  ••  •  •     . 

t'irtfl?''*^^.:  ■•*■.•  ■■^'' 
•  ••••*•  .'  ^^»  • .  ■  • 

:;.rt:--.T>;i..vw-'.  •  ■•.  '     •.  Vf 


;4o 


53° -40- Wwt  cF  Greenwich 


53*10' 


18  MUes. 


[)ng8t 

Izons. 
Lhem 
lasiDS 
\s  to 
lAwa 
the 


of  the  two  forks  is  only  650  feet  above  sea-level;  hence  in  its  descent  through 
successive  terraces  to  the  coast  the  Maroni  is  interrupted  by  no  cataracts  of  great 
height.  The  rocky  barriers  which  at  intervals  dam  up  the  stream,  and  which 
form  so  many  reaches  with  scarcely  perceptible  current,  have  been  eroded  so  as 
to  form  a  series  of  natural  sluices,  through  which  the  river  descends  in  sheets  of 
loam,  small  cascades,  or  falls  of  slight  elevation. 

At  the  Hermina  (Aramina)  Falls,  50  miles  from  the  sea,  the  Maroni  descends 
a  total  height  of  15  or  16  feet,  in  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile.  Beyond  this 
point  its  course  is  free  from  all  obstruction,  and  accessible  to  steamers  of  some 
size.  Here  the  river  flows  between  two  wooded  banks,  3,000  to  6,000  feet  apart, 
and  at  its  mouth  forms  a  bar  16  feet  deep  at  low  water.  ./ 


''"•.■iiiLivQjgui 


20 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Tho  rivers  of  FroiuOi  Ouiunii  followinj?  the  Mnroni  in  tlio  direction  of  the  east 
have  their  source  not  on  the  Amnzoniun  wuter-piirting,  but  in  u  few  isolutrd  hiiln 
lying  midway  between  that  range  mid  the  Hea.  Of  these  streams  the  largest  are 
the  Maiia,  tho  Siunamari,  the  Approuagne,  each  of  which  is  about  200  miles  long, 


k 


i'lt'  i! 


Fig.  7.— RiTBBa  or  thk  Fbaxco-Hr^ilun  Gontkstkb  Zonk. 

Bcalt  1  : 1,600,000. 


West  or  Greenwich       50° 40' 


49*4C' 


otoie 

i^ect. 


Depthi.    , 


letoaa 
Feet. 


afi  Feet 
and  apwardn. 


:  30  Milea. 


traversing  sparsely  peopled  districts,  and  flowing  in  straight  courses  to  the  coast, 
which  here  trends  round  to  the  south-east. 

Beyond  ,hcm  follows  the  Oynpok,  whose  name,  applied  to  several  other  water- 
courses, and  d>.nved  from  the  Indian  words  ui/aptieti,  "long  river,"  would  bo  more 


!■';!! 


RIVERS  OP  Of      XA. 


»»iyii,.i>;  niyijiii'   -■*- 


past, 

iter- 
lore 


appropriiito  to  t)io  Ainu/oiiH  thiin  to  any  olbcr  South  Ainoriuuii  str<  Like  f  m 

Muroni,  t)io  ( )yui)ok  riios  uiulur  tlic  iiutno  of  tho  Souuuro  in  the  '  niiuo*HHaL  .k< 
Mountuins  ut  tho  Wufugnupu  I'ouk,  uiid  Borves  us  tho  oustoni  froi  i  if  the  uin- 
(liNputod  portion  nf  Froiitih  Uuianu  towurcU  Hru/.il. 

The  "  crooks  "  •  or  houdwutors  of  the  Oyupok  approueh  tho.so  ot  tho  Maroni, 
und  these  two  rivers  ciosi'ly  rosenible  euoh  other  in  thtir  genoral  clmructor.  Tho 
Oyapok  aloo,  which  was  usuitUy  followed  by  travellers  bound  for  Hrazilian  Quiana, 
descends  from  roach  to  reach  through  u  tiucccssion  of  fulls  and  rapids,  which,  how- 
ever, are  both  more  numerous  and  higher  than  those  of  the  Maroni.  Coudrcau 
speaks  of  two  which  plunge  over  precipices  some  GO  or  70  foot  high,  and  tho  Troiti 
Snu(8  ("  Tnree  Leaps ")  is  probably  the  finest  in  the  whole  of  French  Guiana. 
The  Robinson  Full,  last  of  the  series,  lies  about  50  miles  frotn  the  sea. 

The  Araoi'aki,  Caciupoik,  and  Mai'a  Guandk. 

East  of  the  long  alluvial  promontory  of  Cape  Orange,  which  is  formed  by  the 
deposits  of  the  Oyapok,  tho  whole  of  the  triangular  space  comprised  bctwenn  this 
river  and  the  Araguari  belongs  to  the  same  zone  of  drainage.  Like  the  Oyapok,  the 
Araguari,  the  Cuchipour,  the  Cunoui,  the  Carsevenne,  the  Mupa  Grande  (Amapa  of 
the  Brazilians),  the  Frechal,  and  the  Tartarugal  all  rise  umid  the  marshy  foothills  of 
the  Tumuc-Humac  range,  whence  they  diverge  in  all  directions  like  the  ribs  of  a  fan. 

The  Araguari  estuury  marks  the  extreme  limit  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  beyond 
which  immediately  begin  the  waters  and  islands  of  the  Amazonian  basin. 

Gkneual  Character  of  the  Guiaxa  Rivers. 

As  in  Venezuelan  and  Brazilian  Guianas  beyond  the  dividing  range,  tho  rivers 
of  Guiana  north  of  that  range  differ  greatly  in  the  colour  of  their  waters.  Some, 
those  especially  of  the  savannas,  are  doudy  and  whitish,  while  others  flowing  from 
the  woodlands  seem  black  or  blackish,  although  reully  transparent.  In  the  Esse- 
quibo  basin  the  blackish  hue  of  these  forest  streams  is  attributed  to  the  roots  and 
branches  of  the  wallaba  tree  growing  in  the  water  along  their  banks. 

Although  most  of  the  Guiana  rivers  traverse  continuous  woodlands  from  the 
mountains  to  the  sea,  they  are  far  less  obstructed  by  snags  than  many  other 
watercourses  of  the  tropical  regions.  This  is  due  to  the  great  specific  gravity  of 
nearly  all  the  arborescent  species  growing  along  the  margins  of  the  Guiana  rivers. 
Instead  of  floating,  the  trees  falling  into  the  water  through  erosion  or  storms  siuk 
to  the  bottom  and  rot  on  the  spot. 

But  on  the  narrow  and  shallow  upper  reaches,  the  tangle  of  branches  and 
lianas  is  a  great  impediment  to  the  boatmen,  who  are  often  obliged  to  hew  their 
way  through  with  the  axe  or  knife.  Here  the  fallen  timber  accumulates  in  barrages, 
the  so-called  tahtba  of  the  Essequibo  Indians,  and  the  barrancas  of  the  Brazilian 
refugees  in  the  contested  territory.  Other  obstructions  are  formed  by  massesof  aquatic 
plantfl,  like  the  sudd  of  the  White  Nile,  which  often  present  as  effectual  a  barrier 
to  the  cunoe-men  as  the  lalls  and  rapids  themselves.     In  most  of  the  watercourses 

*  In  French  Guiana  the  term  crique  (='  oreek  ")  is  generally  applied  to  mountain  torrents.         

'"86 


k' 


'I'i 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  I'LATA. 


the  «iiii(lstoiu<,  fifrttiiito,  or  dinritu  reefs  riainp;  to  or  iiliovo  tlm  surfuco  uro  covered, 
iiH  witli  u  ooutiiig  of  tiir,  by  ii  tilin  coiii|h)ni'(I  of  iron  and  inunguneNo  oxidcN.  Ah  on 
the  Orinoco,  tho  hurdur  the  ruck  tliu  blucker  thu  film,  whiub  in  ruiny  wi'utber  ciniU 
iMxiouH  odoui'H. 

llelovv  tbo  reeft  und  riipidt  t)iu  broad  dei>p  riverH,  diitcoloured  and  dammed  up 
by  tbo  tithtl  current,  roll  down  a  yelluwiHb  water  often  hidden  beneath  tloutii  )f 
vegetation.  In  their  h)wer  rcaehoH  these  MtreaniH  merge  in  tlio  riversicK*  niorassoN, 
lakes,  or  lagoons,  which  in  French  Guiana  take  the  name  of  /tri/iiin.  In  the  more 
settled  und  better-cultivated  districts  of  the  Dritish  and  Dutch  neabourd  thi» 
direction  and  discharge  of  the  fl(M)d  waters  liuve  been  regulated  by  dykes  und 
canals.  On  the  plantations  sluicrs  uro  used  to  arrest  the  tides,  while  the  percolat- 
ing waters  are  discharged  at  ebb  through  the  so-called  kolccrx,  or  ditches.  About 
the  estuaries  the  fresh  water  of  the  (iuiaiui  rivers  flouts  on  the  heavier  ^alt  wutir 
for  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles  seawards. 

TlIK    Ol  lANA    LaKKS. 

Thanks  to  the  uniform  slope  of  the  land,  the  old  lakes  whii  formerly  studded 
the  surface  of  Quiuna,  and  whose  contours  muv  often  still  be  traced  in  those  of 
the  savannas,  have  nearly  ull  been  discharged.  These  ancient  lacu^^trine  depres- 
sions have  been  best  preserved  in  the  contested  Franco-Brazilian  territory  between 
the  Mapa  Grande  and  Araguiiri  rivers. 

This  iako-studded  district  lies  back  of  the  low-lying  peninsular  headland  of 
Cape  do  Norte  und  the  equally  low  island  of  Maraca.  Within  a  comparatively 
recent  epoch  the  zone  of  fresh-water  lagoons  extended  much  farther  north  all  the 
way  to  the  Oyapok  river,  and  at  that  time  all  these  lakes,  creeks,  and  channels 
presented  u  continuous  waterway,  over  200  miles  between  Amazonia  and  French 
(iuiuna,  navigable  throughout  by  boats  and  barges.  According  to  the  officers  in 
command  of  the  French  fort  of  Mapa,  which  was  maintained  during  the  years 
1836 — 41,  craft  of  forty  tons  were  still  able  to  follow  this  route  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Ligo  Grande,  immediately  south  of  the  Mapa 
Grande  river,  is  now  a  mere  fragment  of  the  large  sheet  of  water  encircling  the 
island  on  which  stood  the  French  fort  abandoned  in  1841,  and  reoccupied  by  the 
Brazilians  in  1890. 

South  und  south-east  of  the  peninsular  Cape  do  Ncrte  follow  other  lakes,  one 
of  which,  Lake  Jac,  near  the  Carapaporis  Strait  between  the  mainland  and  Maraca 
Island,  appears  to  still  preserve  the  form  of  a  spacious  bay,  but  without  shelter, 
hence  exposed  to  the  Atlantic  storms,  and  scarcely  any  longer  navigable  by  the 
native  boatmen. 

The  Lago  Novo,  near  the  Aruguari  river  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
lacustrine  chain,  also  resembles  a  marine  inlet,  and  even  affords  a  retreat  to 
manatees,  which  here  browse  on  the  forests  of  aquatic  plants.  But  it  is  also  acces- 
sible to  barges,  which  find  shelter  from  the  Atlantic  gales  under  the  lee  of  the 
insular  groups  which  form  so  many  transverse  breakwaters.  Having  a  depth  of 
from  30  to  40  feet,   this  basin  might  easily  be  transformed  to  a   magnificent 


'iiii!^ise>,sm&iseiiie»Mi''Xsi-K'fyssmeiSfi 


■■■i 


•  l'{f''-?'i^l>Ji!>',<iW«PP,<(' 


ifJlplWH'l" 


l»|M 


LAKES  OF  OUIANA. 


S8 


Is,  one 

[aracu 
aelter, 
fy  the 

lof  the 
eat  to 

lacces- 
)f  the 
3th  of 
Ificent 


harbour  of  rufuge  RpaciouR  enough  for  whole  flootn,  hy  ilccpoiiing  tlio  tluinnol  a 
tow  iiiiU'H  long  with  which  it  coinmunicutcR  with  tlio  Aruguuri,  and  dredging  tbo 
OHtuary  whic;li  has  silted  up,  presenting  in  Hoino  places  depths  of  little  over  three 
feet. 

The  Hubftidenco  and  entire  disappearance  of  the  Guiuna  lakes  in  n  |)r()CCfls 
which  is  accomplished  very  rapidly.  The  recdH  and  other  plantu  wliich  wither  , 
in  summer  are  deposited  in  a  bod  of  floating  humuH  in  which  various  vegetable 
H[M>(!ie8  and  even  shrubs  strike  root.  These  verdant  carpets  are  f'-oni  time  to  tinio 
lent  by  the  storms  and  driven  to  the  surrounding  margins,  licre  they  are  soon 
again  massed  together  and  thickened.  Thus  tho  lake  becomes  gradually  filled  in, 
or  trunsfornjed  to  a  floating  (juagmiro,  firm  on  tho  surface,  boggy  in  the  l^wer 
depths.  In  a  short  time  nothing  remains  of  tho  lagoou  except  tho  navigable 
channel,  tho  iijanipv,  or  "canoe  truck."  Coudrcau  even  hazards  tho  theory 
that  the  lakes  are  emptied  by  a  kind  of  see-saw  movement  of  tho  banks.* 

In  several  of  the  lacustrine  beds  have  been  found  huge  trunks,  whose  origin 
it  is  difhcult  to  explain,  except  on  tho  supposition  that  the  hikes  were  at  first  dry 
land,  which  afterwards  subsided  through  some  sudden  disturbance  of  tho  ground. 
Another  explanation  of  tho  phenomoTion,  however,  is  suggested  by  tho  form  and 
trend  of  the  seaboard.  Tho  alluvial  promontories  at  the  Oyapok,  Approuague, 
and  Cachipour  estuaries  are  all  disposed  in  tho  dii  rtioa  of  the  north,  and  in 
their  lower  course  these  rivers  also  follow  the  same  direction,  evidently  under 
the  influence  of  tho  marine  current,  which  deposits  its  sedimentary  mutter  along 
the  shore.  It  may  therefore  be  assumed  that  at  contact  with  this  current  the 
Aruguuri  was  also  deflected  northwards,  and  that  the  chain  of  lakes  which  have 
the  same  trend  are  tho  remains  of  the  old  fluvial  bed. 

Tho  Curapaporis  Strait,  which  flows  between  ^luracu  Island  and  tho  mainland, 
and  which  is  clearly  distinguished  by  its  greater  depth  from  all  the  surrounding 
shallow  basins,  would  on  this  hypothesis  be  tho  old  mouth  of  the  Aruguari, 
scarcely  modified  since  the  lime  when  the  rivcv  reached  the  sou  more  to  the  oast. 
If  80  much  be  allowed,  there  would  be  nothing  surprising  in  the  fact  that,  like  the 
Amazons,  the  copious  Aruguari  should  flout  down  large  trees  and  deposit  them 
along  its  lower  winding  course,  which  afterwards  became  a  system  of  lugoons  con- 
nected together  by  tortuous  channels.  In  the  same  way  the  marine  current  itself 
intercepts  the  snags  washed  down  by  the  Amazons,  depositing  them  along  its 
muddy  course,  where  they  afterwards  become  eribedded  in  the  alluvial  coustlands 
of  more  recent  formation.  Such  ligneous  deposits  have  been  found  at  depths  of 
78  or  80  feet. 

But  however  this  be,  great  changes  have  been  in  progress  even  during  the 
contemporaneous  period.  A  mere  glance  at  the  map  suffices  to  show  that  the  sea- 
board of  the  contested  Franco-Brazilian  territory  between  the  Araguari  and  the 
Cachipour  presents  u  striking  contrast  to  the  section  of  the  coast  running  east  and 
west  between  Cayenne  and  the  Corentyne  estuary.  This  section  develops  a 
regular  convex  curve,  indicating  the  incessant  deposit  of  sediment  by  the  marine 
*  La  France  JEguinoxiale,  Voyage  it  traven  Us  Ouyanei  et  VAmazonit. 


24 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


current.  But  the  southern  section  has,  on  the  contrary,  been  deeply  eroded  by 
the  marine  waters ;  a  portion  of  the  old  shore  has  been  washed  away,  and  the 
Cape  do  Norte,  as  well  as  Maraca  Island,  are  so  many  fragments  of  the  ancient 
continental  seaboard.  Along  the  whole  length  of  the  coast  of  Dutch  Guiana  east 
and  west  of  Paramaribo,  the  existence  of  older  beaches  may  be  traced  by  the  lines 
of  snags  deposited  by  the  marine  current  and  now  embedded  in  the  littoral  alluvia. 

Analogous  contrasts  are  presented  by  the  character  of  the  coast  streams  in 
both  regions.  Off  the  shores  of  Dutch  Guiana  the  soft  mud  covering  the  bed  of 
the  sea  yields  like  a  movable  carpet  to  the  action  of  the  Atlantic  billows,  and 
thus  tends  to  diminish  their  force.  Thus  the  rollers  gradually  subside  until  the 
sea  becomes  quite  smooth,  so  that  vessels  often  find  safe  anchorage  between  the 
marine  current  and  the  shore  while  the  storm  rages  on  the  high  sea. 

About  the  Cape  do  Norte  and  Maraca  Island,  on  the  contrary,  the  tides  rush 
in  with  extreme  violence.  Nowhere  else,  not  even  in  the  Amazonian  estuary, 
does  the  pororoca,  as  the  bore  is  locally  called,  roll  up  more  suddenly,  or  with  a 
succession  of  more  powerful  waves.  So  far  back  as  1743  La  Condamine  had 
already  described  the  waters  about  the  Araguari  estuary  as  amongst  the  most 
dangerous  for  shipping.  The  tides,  pent  up  in  the  narrow  gulf  on  a  gradually 
shoaling  bed,  rise  in  a  few  minutes  to  one-third  of  high  water  level ;  they  have 
occasionally  been  observed  to  rise  almost  suddenly  as  many  as  5^0  or  even  26  feet. 
The  floods  spread  far  over  the  low-lying  coastlands,  and  during  the  spring  tides, 
when  there  is  a  rise  of  from  40  to  60  feet,  whole  strips  of  the  mangrove-covered 
beach  have  been  swept  away.  These  verdant  islands,  drifting  with  the  current, 
are  stranded  farther  north  about  the  Caohipour  and  Oyapok  estuaries.  Even  at 
neap  tide  the  difference  between  ebb  and  flow  in  these  waters  is  still  about  10 
feet. 

Subjoined  is  a  table  of  the  chief  Guiana  rivers  between  the  Orinoco  and  the 
Amazons,  with  approximate  estimates  of  their  length,  areas  of  drainage,  dis- 
charge, and  extent  of  navigable  waters  for  small  steamers  : — 


Area  of  bisin 

Me»n  discharge 

Length 
navigad 

Lentrtbin 

ID  square 

per  seoond  in 

miles. 

miles. 

cubic  font. 

watervi 

Essequibo          .         .                 620 

64,700 

70,000 

40 

Demerarrt 

175 

3,000 

7,2.')0 

94 

Berbice 

325 

14,000 

18,000 

165 

Corentijn 

460 

23,000 

35,000 

70 

Surinam    . 

300 

14,000 

18,000 

96 

Muroni 

390 

23,000 

39,000 

46 

Approusgae 

190 

4,000 

2,700 

38 

Oyapok     . 

300 

12,000 

26,000 

46 

Cachipour 

320  P 

8,000 

14,000 

60 

Cnnani 

175? 

4,000 

7,250 

44 

Araguari 

310? 

9,600 

14,000 

125 

fK 


At  a  distance  of  from  15  to  50  miles  off  the  coast  flows  the  great  marine 
current,  which  sets  from  Cape  S.  Roque  towards  Trinidad,  Its  axis  extends 
on  an  average  134  miles  from  the  mainland,  and  its  total  breadth  may  be  esti- 
mated at  from  230  to  250  miles.  It  varies  in  velocity  with  the  winds,  at  times 
exceeding  90  or  95  miles  a  day,  while  at  others,  when  retarded  by  the  trade 


.'miim^^is^slimmM  jjaaMfCiatwr-- 


-  '.■'>tWt"tlllii»fllH'^l_l 


CLIMATE  OP  GUIANA. 


26 


winds,  it  moves  ut  scarcely  more  than  a  mile  an  hour,  and  even  develops  lateral 
counter- currents  and  whirlpools.  At  such  times  it  rises  in  the  harbours  along 
the  seaboard  like  a  fluviul  current  above  the  weirs. 


'M 


ine 
ids 
Sti- 
les 
ide 


Climate  op  the  Guianas. 

The  Guianas  lie  entirely  within  the  zone  of  the  north-east  trade  winds. 
Nevertheless  they  are  sufficiently  near  the  equator  to  come  within  the  influence 
of  the.  prevailing  south-easterlies  for  a  part  of  the  year.  At  Cayenne,  which  may 
be  taken  as  the  central  point  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  the  normal  wind,  setting 
usually  from  the  north-east,  blows  regularly  from  the  beginning  of  December, 
and  acquires  its  greatest  force  in  January  and  February.  At  the  spring  equinox 
its  fury  abates  a  little,  and  then  follows  the  period  of  calms  interrupted  by 
squalls,  while  in  the  month  of  July  the  general  shifting  of  the  atmospheric 
currents  towards  the  northern  hemisphere  is  indicated  by  the  steadily  increasing 
south-easterly  breezes.  Nevertheless,  these  south-easterlies,  or  rather  east-south- 
easterlies,  do  not  blow  continuously  ;  they  prevail  usually  at  night,  being  replaced 
during  the  day  by  the  land  breezes.  The  Guiana  seaboard  lies  entirely  beyond  the 
sphere  of  the  cyclonic  storms. 

The  period  during  which  the  north-easterly  trade  winds  prevail  corresponds 
to  the  rainy  season,  which  usually  sets  in  with  the  normal  winds,  and  lasts  till  the 
period  of  irregular  breezes  and  of  the  dry  south-easterlies.  In  March  the  rainfall 
is  least  abundant,  whence  the  expression,  "  March  Summer,"  which  is  applied  in 
French  Guiana  to  this  relatively  dry  month.  But  in  May  the  moisture-bearing 
clouds  discharge  their  contents  in  cataracts,  and  these  heavy  downpours  are  known 
as  the  Pluies  de  lu  Poussinihre,  "  Pleiades  llains."  On  the  Guiuna  seaboard  the 
mean  rainfall  exceeds  100  inches,  and  in  some  years  the  rain-gauges  have 
registered  ever  160  inches,*  while  Mr.  im  Thurn  records  a  downpour  of  no  less 
than  13  inches  in  twelve  hours. t 

But  the  precipitation  varies  greatly  from  year  to  year,  rising  at  Georgetown, 
for  instance,  from  a  little  over  60  inches  in  1885  to  double  that  quantity  in  1890. 
During  the  rainy  season  the  temperature  is  slightly  lower  than  in  summer ; 
but  it  never  varies  more  than  a  few  degrees  from  the  nolrmal  for  the  whole  year, 
which  may  be  taken  at  about  80°  or  8 1°  Fahr.  In  the  interior,  the  range  between 
the  extremes  is  slight,  thanks  to  the  uniform  relief  of  the  land,  which  presents 
no  great  elevations  except  in  the  Pacaraima  uplands.  But  the  greatest  differences 
are  observed  in  the  distribution  of  moisture.  Thus  the  rain-bearing  clouds 
intercepted  by  the  mountains  discharge  their  contents  in  torrents  on  the  higher 
summits,  whereas  they  part  with  but  little  of  their  humidity  on  the  plains,  where 
thev  meet  with  no  obstacles. 

But  even  here  the  atmosphere  is  nearly  always  charged  with  a  large  quantity 
of  aqueous  vapour.  At  dusk  the  fogs  spread  like  a  vast  shroud  over  the  wood- 
lands, where  they  are  often  pierced  by  the  large  trees,  whose  crests  rise  above  the 

*  Riiinfall  of  Cayenne  in  1874  :  108  inches  (Maurel  and  Hardf). 
fJou>nal«/l/i*Monta(Itutitiite,lB9i—93. 


^<*w4«''=^ 


4* 


26 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


dense  bazo  liko  rocky  islets  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.  The  plains,  the  headlands 
everything  is  wrapped  in  this  damp  covering,  with  which  are  intermingled  the 
miasmatic  exhalations  of  the  soil.  On  the  Tumuc-IIumac  Mountains,  where  in 
the  space  of  five  months  Coudreau  made  over  fifteen  hundred  ohsjrvutions,  the 
atmosphere  is  less  charged  with  moisture  tlian  on  the  coastland^^.  "  Here  the 
fogs  are  drier,  and  the  night  temperature  falls  to  16  degrees  "  (61°  Fahr.).* 

Flora  of  the  Giianas. 

To  the  irregular  distribution  of  the  rainfall  must  be  attributed  the  striking 
contrasts  presented  by  the  flora  of  'he  Guianas.  There  are  two  distinct  botanical 
zones — the  savannas,  or  campos,  as  the  Brazilians  call  them,  and  the  primeval 
woodlands.  But  account  must  also  be  taken  of  various  sandy  and  arid  tracts 
destitute  of  all  vegetable  humus,  and  of  other  districts,  where,  despite  the 
moisture,  arborescent  plants  are  prevented  from  springing  up  by  the  dense  forests 
of  reeds. 

The  treelc-8  regions  extend  for  the  most  part  below  the  hills  or  mountains, 
whose  upper  flanks  are  exposed  to  constant  rains.  Thus  in  British  Guii:ua  the 
upper  Takutu  basin,  sheltered  from  the  moist  winds  by  the  eastern  offshoots  of  the 
Pacaraima  range,  lies  altogether  within  the  zone  of  savannas.  But  certain  plains 
in  close  proximity  to  the  Atliintic  coast  are  completely  destitute  of  forest  growths, 
although  in  their  geographical  position  and  absence  of  relief  they  closely  resemble 
other  well- wooded  plains.  Thus  in  the  contested  Franco- Brazilian  territory  the 
savannas,  interrupted  only  by  fringes  of  trees  along  the  river  banks,  extend 
parallel  with  the  Atlantic  coast  all  the  way  from  Cupe  Orange  to  the  Amazons 
estuary,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  loner  Araguari  valley  forms  a  vast  treeless 
campo. 

In  British  and  Dutch  Guiana,  the  savannas  form  a  narrow  bolt  of  open 
ground  reaching  from  the  banks  of  the  Demerara  to  those  of  the  Surinam.  The 
existence  of  these  treeless  tracts  between  the  mangrove-covered  littoral  and  the  in- 
land forests  is  due  partly  to  a  local  disturbance  of  the  moist  winds,  partly  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  formerly  the  bed  of  a  lake. 

Like  the  Venezuelan  llanos,  the  savannas  of  Guiana  present  the  whole  series  \ 
of  transitions  from  a  wooded  to  a  grassy  surface.  In  some  districts  the  limits  of 
the  different  zones  are  as  sharply  defined  as  those  of  land  and  sea  formed  by 
vertical  cliffs.  Ou  emerging  from  the  virgin  forest  with  its  tangle  of  lianas  and 
parasites,  the  wayfarer  suddenly  finds  himself  surrounded  by  a  sea  of  herbaceous 
growths,  where  the  eye  sweeps  unhindered  over  a  vast  horizon  limited  in  the  dis- 
tance by  a  sky-line  of  mountain  crests.  Elsewhere  the  woodlands  break  into  an 
irregular  fringe  of  glades,  distribute  their  trees  more  openlj',  and  lower  their 
height,  scattering  clusters  of  wooded  islets  round  about  their  verge. 


•  Sleteorolog'icat  oonditionH  of  the  Gumna  HealHinrd  :  — 


Georgetown 
l'Hr«mnribo 
Cayenne 


Mean 
Temperature. 

SfF. 

HiKhent 
Temperntiire. 

90^  F. 

Lowest 

Tetnperutura 

74°  F. 

79" 

96" 

70° 

80' 

92^ 

72' 

nninjr 

Daya. 

170 

177 

lOO 


nainfuU 
119  iucho?< 
140      „ 
UO      „ 


FLORA  OF  GUIANA. 


27 


The  aavannp  also  present  analogous  differences  Some,  especiuUy  in  the 
neighbourhood  oi  the  dividing  range  between  the  British  and  Brazilian  Guianas, 
are  entirely  destitute  of  arborescent  vegetation,  and  these  the  Brazilians  call 
campoa  limpos,  "  savannas  proper."  But  in  most  of  the  Guiana  prairie  lands  are 
seen  a  few  trees,  either  scattered  or  disposed  in  rows.  Every  winding  stream  has 
its  fringe  of  forest  growths ;  every  brook  and  gorge  has  its  screen  of  Mauritia 
palms,  regular  colonnades,  whose  capitals  are  formed  of  10  or  12  pendent 
fan-shaped  leaves,  the  resort  of  whole  flocks  of  parrots.  Where  the  watercourses 
ramify  into  a  multitude  of  channels,  the  savannas  are  decomposed  into  as  many 
secondary  prairies  with  intervening  screens  of  the  same  palms,  or  of  other  trees, 


!2t 


Fig.  8.— Takttu  Savannas. 
Scale  1  :  S,2C0.000. 


60'    West  oF  GreenwicP<  59' 


eOMUei. 


resembling  the  long  lines  of  poplars  which  border  the  meadowlauds  in  the  Loire 
vullpy.  ■  ^■'- .;:?;■■:'■■ -'^:v>-"^"..';'  v '- /J'    •  -.*,- 

The  general  aspect  and  the  vegetation  of  the  savannas  are  modified  with  the 
varying  quantity  of  atmospheric  moisture  or  the  greater  or  less  aridity  of  the  soil. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea  and  of  the  coast  streams  or  creeks,  the  pripris 
or  swampy  tracts  have  sonfiewhat  the  character  of  the  savannas  proper.  They  dry 
up  in  summer  when  the  ground  yields  a  scanty  growth  of  grasses,  continuing  sea- 
wards the  surface  of  the  arid  inland  prairies.  In  French  Guiana  most  of  these 
swamps  take  the  name  o(  pinotih'ea,  from  the  j:inot  palms  (assai  or  euterpe  edulin), 
which  border  their  margins.  •    «.     -     ,^ 


i 


S8 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


As  the  ground  rises  towards  the  interior,  the  savannas  become  clothed  with 
various  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  analogous  to  those  of  the  European  meadows. 
Pale  green  during  the  rainy  season,  tbey  assume  a  russet  or  a  yellowish  garb  in 
summer ;  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  destitute  of  flowering  species.  They 
nowhere  array  themselves  in  bright  colours,  nor  do  they  emit  the  fragrance  pecu- 
liar to  the  flowery  meads  of  west  Europe.  But  what  they  chiefly  need  is  the  aid  of 
man  in  developing  a  more  extensive  growth  of  alimentary  plants.  From  the  re- 
sults of  the  few  agricultural  clearings  that  have  been  made,  especially  for  fodder 
crops,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  natural  fertility  of  these  regions. 

With  few  exceptions,  the  inhabitants  contribute  little  to  modify  the  flora  of 
the  savannas  beyond  tlie  rough-and-ready  process  of  firing  the  withered  grasses  in 
the  summer  season.  The  object  of  these  conflagrations  is  merely  to  collect  a  few 
turtles  amid  the  embers  No  attempt  is  made  to  improve  the  pastures,  and  on 
the  high  lands  beyond  the  alluvial  tracts,  the  fires  have  in  many  places  consumed 
plants,  roots  and  all,  down  to  the  sandy  subsoil.  A  few  arid  heights,  whose  under- 
ground recesses  are  the  resort  of  huge  lizards,  have  already  here  and  there  assumed 
somewhat  the  aspect  of  sandliills.  The  fire,  under  the  influence  of  the  winds,  is 
at  times  propagated  with  great  rapidity,  but  as  a  rule  it  spreads  much  slower  than 
in  the  Algerian  bush  or  on  the  prairies  of  the  Far  West  in  North  America.  The 
plants,  containing  more  moisture,  are  less  inflammable,  and  the  conflagration  is 
usually  arrested  on  the  verge  of  the  forests  after  devouring  a  few  of  the  more 
exposed  trees.  Even  in  the  savanna  itself  it  spares  the  verdant  clusters  which 
are  formed  round  about  the  springs,  and  which  afibrd  cover  to  the  animals  during 
the  summer  heats. 

The  Guiana  forests,  which  on  the  eastern  slopes  occupy  by  fur  the  greatest 
part  of  the  whole  region,  belong  to  the  Amazonian  botanical  world.  Nearly  all 
the  species  of  the  scka  are  represented  in  the  Guiana  woodlands,  which  neverthe- 
less form  but  a  relatively  small  division  of  the  continent. 

Instead  of  monotonous  forests  consisting  mainly  of  one  or  two  sociable 
plants,  such  as  tho  European  or  North  American  pine,  spruce,  oak,  or  beech  groves, 
this  region  possesses  a  vegetable  world  characterised  by  the  prodigious  variety 
of  its  forms.  French  Guiana  alone  presents  as  many  as  260  forest  species,  that 
is  to  say,  10  times  more  than  are  found  in  France  itself. 

The  marine  current  setting  from  Cape  S.  Roque  along  the  Brazilian  sea- 
board round  to  the  Guianas  certainly  contributes  its  share  to  the  distribution  of 
the  southern  forms  by  the  seeds,  fruits,  and  branches  which  it  casts  up  along  the 
seaboard.  But  all  the  vegetable  treasures  of  Guiana  are  still  but  approximately 
known,  some  regions  not  having  yet  been  visited  by  any  naturalists. 

Nevertheless,  the  itineraries  followed  by  botanists  already  cover  most  of  the 
ground.  In  1872,  Grisebach  estimated  at  3,500  the  number  of  species  described 
up  to  that  date.  The  most  widespread  families  are  those  of  the  leguminous  type, 
which  represent  about  a  ninth  part  of  all  the  local  forms.  Next  to  them  the  most 
numerous  are  the  ferns  and  orchids.  The  palms,  of  which  as  many  as  30  varie- 
ties occur  in  French  Guiana  alone,  comprise  about  the  hundredth  part  of  the 


U^Jt: 


lea- 

of 

Ithe 

lely 


lost 
rie- 


FLOEA  OF  GUIANA. 


20 


whole  flora ;   but  their  majestic  appearance,  making  them  conspicuous  objects 
at  a  distance,  gives  them  a  seeming  importance  far  beyond  their  mere  numbers. 

The  members  of  the  Venezuelan  and  Colombian  zones,  which  are  not  found 
in  Guiana,  are  mainly  the  Alpine  plants  flourishing  in  the  Andes  at  altitudes 
much  higher  thuu  the  summits  of  the  Pacaraima  and  Cuirrit  ranges.  At  least 
200  varieties  of  tree  ferns  grow  on  the  slopes  at  heights  of  over  3,000  feet ;  in  a 
few  days  Richard  Schomburgk  discovered  as  many  as  93  different  members  of 
this  family  in  the  Roraima  district,  which  has  been  called  the  "  Eldorado  of 
botanists."  Here  the  slightest  difference  of  relief,  aspect,  or  soil  is  marked  by 
fresh  forms.     The  bp/aria  {bejaria),  or  "  rose  of  the  Andes,"  and  u  plant  allied  to 

Fig.  0.— FoBESTS  AND  Savanras  of  Guiana. 
Scale  1  :  18,000,000. 


,360  Miles. 


the  cinchona,  are  also  represented  on  the  slopes  of  Roraima.  On  the  banks  of 
the  Essequibo  the  Indians  make  use  of  arrows  obtained  from  a  poisonous  bamboo, 
which  produces  the  same  effect  as  the  curare.* 

The  superb  Victoria  regia,  discovered  in  1837,  in  the  Berbice  River,  British 
Guiana,  and  afterwards  met  in  many  other  watercourses  in  the  Amazonian  region, 
is  an  example  of  the  marvellous  beauty  that  efllorescence  may  assume  in  equato- 
rial America.  In  some  places  the  surface  of  the  lakes  almost  entirely  disappears 
under  a  carpet  of  enormous  leaves  and  tufts  of  white  petals  intermingled  with 
other  flowers,  blue,  pink,  or  yellow,  and  with  quaking  grasses.  Under  certain 
favourable  atmospheric  conditions,  the  flowers  of  a  nymphtsacea  abounding  in 
these  fresh-water  basins  shine  with  the  calm  glow  of  a  night  light,  much  less  vivid 

•  C  ^.  ^mvn,  Canoe  and  Ciimp  L\ft  in  British  Ouiana, 


■hJ' 


BV 


^:r^y^'  €-^''-':m^ 


80 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


I?f>ii 


m 


fe'^C 


than  tliat  of  tropical  fire-flics  and  of  other  luminous  insects,  but  brighter  than 
that  emitted  by  decaying  timber. 

Amongst  alimentary  plants  are  tho  wild  cacao,  several  varieties  of  edible 
passion  worts,  wild  pine-apples,  some  sap-yielding  palms,  the  marantaceno  from 
which  arrowroot  is  extracted,  the  twelve  varieties  of  raanioo,  the  euphorbiacea 
from  which  cassava,  coac,  and  the  so-called  paiourai  beverage  are  prepared,  tho 
carainbola  {averrhou  v.),  the  tuka  {bertholctia  excc/m),  whose  fruit,  resembling  a 
cannon  ball,  and  about  the  size  of  a  man's  hend,  contains  in  four  cells  six  or  eight 
of  the  excellent  Brazil  or  Para  ruts. 

The  "  traveller's  tree  "  of  Madagascar  is  represented  in  the  Guiunas  by  the 
rnrenala  guianeum,  a  wild  plantain  with  enormous  leaves  shooting  up  from  near 
tho  ground  to  a  height  of  10  or  even  15  feet.  "Tho  bases  of  the  leaf-stalks" 
sheath  the  one  over  the  other,  and  in  the  pockets  formed  by  each  of  these  sheath- 
ing parts  much  rainwater  is  retained  even  through  the  dry  season.  Another 
noticeable  feature  in  those  plants  is  that  the  seeds  within  the  tough  thin  shell 
o?  the  fruit  are  packed  in  a  large  quantity  of  short  fibrous  substance  like  clippings 
of  wool,  in  tho  Guiana  species  of  brightest  scarlet  colour,  but  in  the  Madagascar 
plant  of  blue. — {Tin  T/nirii.) 

In  the  coast  region  are  met  the  oleaginous,  medicinal,  resinous,  and  aromatic 
species  of  Amazonia,  and  room  might  still  be  found  for  all  those  of  equatorial  Africa. 
The  awara  [nUalcn  xjwciosa),  a  member  of  the  palm  family,  yields  an  oil  as  valuable 
as  that  of  the  Guinea  oil-palm,  which  was  introduced  into  Guiana  in  18C6.  Other 
kinds,  such  as  the  carapa  giii/aneiisis,  whose  nuts  contain  as  much  as  70  per  cent, 
of  their  weight  in  oil,  the  wax-tree  (rirohi  sahifera),  and  the  incorruptible  wapa 
(faniariii<fi(.i  indicn),  ii\so  offer  industrial  resources  hitherto  scarcely  utilised  ;  the 
same  may  be  Siiid  of  the  150  species  and  upwards  of  medicinal  plants,  all  contain- 
ing valuable  properties  in  their  wood,  sap,  roots,  leaves,  flowers,  or  fruits. 

Amongst  the  caoutchoucs  and  others  yielding  gums  and  rubber  of  the  gutta- 
percha type,  noteworthy  is  the  balata  {achras  or  mimiisops  baMa),  tho  "bullet- 
tree  "  of  English  writers,  whose  sap  is  at  once  elastic  and  ductile.  Like  Arabia, 
Guiana  has  also  its  incense  tree,  the  hyawa  {idea  hcptapInjUa),  which  is  burnt  in 
the  churches  on  the  coastlands.  "  Where  the  hyawa  tree  grows,  the  whole  air  for 
some  distance  round  is  pleasant  and  wholesome  with  the  incense-like  odour  of  the 
white  retain  that  drops  from  its  stem  and  falls  in  masses  on  the  ground ;  and  a 
still  more  powerfuliy-scented  resin,  which  coats  the  trunk  of  another  tree,  the 
tauranero  of  the  Indians  {hnmirium  florihindum,  Mart.),  seems  to  imitate  and  sur- 
pass the  odour  of  vanilla." — {lin  Tliurn.) 

The  natives  have  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  whites  numerous  dyewoods,  such 
as  the  rucu  and  the  lena  {genipa  americnnn),  and  others  abounding  in  tannin. 
With  the  fibres  of  hundreds  of  plants,  from  the  palm  to  the  pine-apple,  they 
weave  a  thousand  different  textile  fabrics,  which  are  used  for  endless  purposes. 
Altogether  this  region  holds  in  reserve  a  prodigious  storehouse  of  raw  material!*, 
all  available  for  the  industrial  arts. 

Guiana  also  abounds  in  timber  and   cubinet  woods,  which  it  is  to  be  feared 


ife^a^ 


^^"^WISIWW?^ 


FAUNA  OP  OUIANA. 


81 


may  soon  attract  tho  attention  of  those  refikless  speculatora  who  have  already 
wasted  so  many  woodlands.  The  morn  ercvhi,  a  leguminous  tree,  which  overtops 
all  other  forest  growths,  sliooting  up  to  a  height  of  120  or  130  feet,  exceeds 
the  oak  and  even  the  teak  in  elasticity  and  durabilifj' ;  it  is  unsurpassed  for  ship- 
building, and  in  economic  value  is  rivalled  only  by  the  green-heart  ebony  (nic- 
tdiK/ra  lioditti). 

Dozens  of  forest  trees  are  met  which  possess  more  solidity  than  the  oak,  but 
their  specifiu  gravity  is  for  the  most  part  equal  to  or  even  greater  than  that  of 
water.  During  the  last  century  some  of  these  heavy  woods  were  used  for 
making  mortars  and  gun-carriages.  The  species  suitable  for  cabinet  work  are 
noted  for  their  bright  green,  yellow,  grey,  or  black  tints,  their  mottled,  marble, 
or  satin-like  surfuce.  One  species  which  shows  in  section  a  lovely  spotted  brown 
grain  has  taken  tho  name  of  "  tiger-wood  "  from  its  resemblance  to  the  spotted 
skin  of  the  American  tiger  (jaguar).  Another  is  the  letter-wood  {brosmnm 
AnbMii),  so  called  from  the  deep  colour  of  its  surface,  on  which  are  inscribed  black 
iigures  resembling  hieroglyphics. 

Fauna  ok  the  Guianas. 

In  its  fauna,  no  less  than  in  its  flora,  Guiana  forms  a  land  of  transition 
between  tho  Amazonian  zone  and  those  of  the  Venezuelan  seaboard  and  of  the 
West  Indies.  None  of  its  mammals,  saurians,  or  reptiles  belong  to  it  exclusively  ; 
and  if  some  of  its  birds,  insects,  or  other  smaller  organisms  have  not  hitherto 
been  met  elsewhere,  it  may  be  almost  taken  for  granted  that  such  forms  do  also 
occur  in  the  conterminous  regions  possessing  the  sime  climate,  soil,  and  vegetation. 

The  species  usually  spoken  of  as  specially  characteristic  of  the  Guianas  are 
those  that  naturalists  have  first  observed  in  this  region.  Such  are  the  marsh  or 
mangrove  deer  (cci'cks  paliistris),  which  frequents  the  swampy  districts  ;  the  crab- 
eater  {canvropliagm  major),  which  preys  on  crabs  and  builds  its  nest  in  the  banks 
of  the  creeks;  the  grey  cr.ine  {(jrm  ferrivorn),  with  the  digestion  cf  an  ostrich, 
and  nearly  as  tall ;  of  aquatic  fowl,  such  as  duck,  flamingoes,  herons,  ibis,  there  is 
a  great  variety,  gafiering  at  times  in  flopks  of  thousands.  The  tijrannus  sul- 
phureus,  most  common  of  all  birds,  whose  voice  is  heard  in  every  tree,  has  from 
its  peculiar  note  received  in  French  Guiana  the  eccentric  name  of  Qu'cst-cc  qu  il 
dit,  contracted  to  Kixkadi.  In  tho  depths  of  the  forest  is  often  heard  the  metallic 
.lote  of  the  so-called  bell-bird  (compaiiero),  of  which  there  are  two  varieties 
{I'hanmarhi/nchus  carunculatus  and  C.  ran'cffntiif;).  But  Mr.  im  Thurn  "  never 
could  detect  much  resemblance  in  the  note  of  these  birds  to  the  sound  of  a  bell. 
The  cry  of  the  first  species  is  more  like  the  ring  produced  by  two  pieces  of  iron 
struck  against  each  other  ;  but  the  notes  of  the  male  and  female  birds  differ  con- 
siderably. The  cry  of  the  second  species  is  like  the  sound  made  by  the  drill  in 
blasting  operations.  Then  also  in  the  forest  is  heard  an  extraordinary  deep  sound, 
like  the  lowing  of  an  ox,  and  it  is  long  before  the  traveller  realises  the  fact  that 
this  is  made  by  tho  '  quow  '  or  '  calf-bird '  {gi/innocephalus  calvus),  a  bird  no  bigger 
than  a  pigeon."         ';  »    ,  ,v-  ^-- --    =  - -^:  ■        — '.    '-         "^■■' 


3lM 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 

In  British  Guiuna  tho  great  cayman  is  confined  to  the  upper  courses  of  the 
Esscquibo  and  Berbicc  rivers ;  nor  does  it  occur  anywhere  in  Dutch  or  French 
Quiana,  though  it  is  again  met  in  the  Franco-Bra/ilian  contested  territory.  Tbe 
rivers  of  Dutch  and  French  Guianas  are  frequented  only  by  two  smnll  species  of 
alligators. 

Nearly  all  the  snakes  are  harmless  to  man ;  the  small  number  of  venomous 
serpents  take  the  collective  name  of  grayoH  in  Cayenne,  where  they  are  often  met 
in  a  torpid  state.  8ome  of  tho  boas,  especially  those  of  aquatic  habits,  such  as 
the  water  cumoodi  (eunectcs  murina),  acquire  enormous  dimensions.  According  to 
Kappler,  one  killed  on  the  upper  Surinam  river  measured  over  43  feet,  and  Mr. 
ira  Thurn's  companion  shot  one  in  the  Potaro  river  which  "  proved  to  be  20  feet 
in  length  and  three  feet  in  girth  at  the  thickest." 

The  gigantic  low-low,  a  silurian  found  in  the  Essequibo,  and  much  appreciated 
by  the  natives,  exceeds  ten  feet  in  length,  and  weighs  as  much  as  220  pounds. 
The  pirai  or  pcrai  (scramlmo  niger),  whose  bite  is  justly  dreaded  by  man,  swarms 
in  most  of  the  rivers,  and  is  probably  one  of  the  most  voracious  animals  in  exis- 
tence. They  not  only  snap  off  the  feet  of  ducks  and  the  tails  of  iguanas,  but  will 
even  attack  alligators,  who  "do  not  always  escape  with  whole  tails.  A  perai 
itself,  if  wounded  by  any  chance,  is  at  once  attacked  and  devoured  by  its  fellows. 
If  a  monkey  or  bird,  when  shot,  falls  in  the  water,  perai  rush  together  from  all 
quarters  and  carry  off  tho  prey -before  the  sportsman  can  reach  it ;  and  more  than 
once,  when  fishing  in  clear  water,  the  bait  hiiving  been  taken  by  some  other  fish, 
I  have  seen  the  captive,  as  it  was  pulled  through  the  water  towards  the  boat,  pursued 
and  snatched  by  rushing  perai." — {I in  Thurn.) 

The  Guiana  Indians  are  rare  experts  in  domesticating  wild  animals,  such  as 
the  agumis  (paop/iia  crejjitans),  cranes,  hoccos  (crax  alectoi),  parrakeets,  dogs, 
aras,  and  even  jaguars.  The  stranger  arriving  suddenly  near  a  native  homestead 
is  liable  to  be  attacked  by  these  "  pets,"  and  unless  the  owner  comes  to  restore 
order,  he  will  have  much  difficulty  in  reaching  the  cabin.  Of  the  two  species 
of  wild  dogs  in  British  Guiana,  one,  the  maikang  of  the  natives,  commits  great 
depredations  on  the  plantations.  These  camivora  prowl  about  in  large  packs  at 
night,  penetrating  through  the  enclosures  without  giving  tongue,  and  playing 
havoc  with  the  poultry  and  other  farm-yard  animals.  The  maikang  crossed  with 
the  common  species  produces  an  excellent  breed  of  hunting  dogs,  which  fetch 
large  prices  in  Georgetown. 

Inhahitants  of  the  Guianas. 

All  the  Guiana  Indians  are  collec'.ively  grouped  by  the  English  and  Dutch 
settlers  under  the  respective  names  of  bucks  and  bocks,  terms  which,  in  a  sense, 
assimilate  them  to  the  beasts  of  the  field.  During  the  early  colonial  times  the 
Europeans,  ignorant  of  the  different  languages  and  usages  of  these  aborigines, 
were  naturally  inclined  to  regard  the  various  groups  as  so  many  distinct  "  nations." 
Thus  Barrere  in  1743  enumerates  over  forty  of  such  groups  in  French  Guiana 
nlone,  without  attempting  to  classify  them  according  to  tlieir  mutual  affinities. 


as 


sies 

beat 

at 

]ith 
Itcb 


Itch 
kse, 
the 

kes. 


kna 


INUAlllTANXS  OF  OUIAXA. 


88 


Dut  these  cthninul  affinities  were  gradually  recognised,  and  the  studies  of  the 
missionaries  and  philologists  have  now  reduced  all  the  indigenous  populations  of 
Guiana  to  three  independent  families :  Arnirak,  Carih,  and  Ttipi.  Even  these 
groups,  however,  present  many  points  of  resemblance  in  their  appearance,  physiog- 
nomy, and  customs,  while  differing  greatly  in  speech. 

The  Ahawaks. 

The  oldest  group,  constituting  the  aboriginal  element  in  the  strictest  sense, 
appears  to  be  that  of  the  Arawaks,  a  name  which  has  been  referred  with  great 
improbability  to  a  Tupi  word  meaning  "  porridge-eaters,"  All  the  natives  alike, 
as  well  as  the  Creoles,  live  on  a  manioc  diet,  so  that  the  Arawaks  are  not  specially 
distinguished  in  this  respect.  They  are  met,  all  bearing  the  same  name,  every- 
where throughout  the  British  Ouiana  seaboard,  and  under  different  designations 
in  the  inland  districts;  here  they  usually  call  themselves  Lokono  (Tiukkunu), 
that  is,  "  Men." 

The  Wapisianas,  Taruraas,  Atorais  (Atorradi)  of  the  upper  Essequibo  and  of 
the  Takutu,  and  the  Palicurs  of  the  contested  territory,  all  belong  to  this  primitive 
group.  At  the  time  of  Schomburgk's  journey  the  Amaripa  tribe,  formerly  neigh- 
bours of  the  Wapisianas,  were  alreocbie^fffS^^N^epresented  only  by  a  single 
survivor,  a  woman  sixty  years  old.  yThe  coast  Araw^^^i^ng  in  the  midst  of  the 
whites  and  of  other  settled  populHmn^/^^th ^%Ns^.orEmlish  jargon  as  their 
common  medium  of  intercourse,  m^  A^l  T)e«R  ^nilipised^and  are  gradually 
merging  in  the  somewhat  cosmopolil^&^aboufftf^'auaB^eid^ihred  on  the  planta- 
tions. Under  the  Dutch  rule  these  .^lM^glr|rw&,eM(ftib^rom  the  servitude 
"  legally  "  imposed  on  all  the  other  Indians.  ^^*^«i  ■  n « *^^ 

Those  of  the  Moruka  coast  stream  north-west  of  the  Essequibo  estuary  are  not 
full-blood  Arawaks.  During  the  Venezuelan  War  of  Independence  some  Orinoco 
Indians  belonging  to  an  unknown  tribe,  but  already  largely  Hispanified  in  their 
usages,  took  refuge  in  British  Guiane.,  in  order  to  escape  from  oppression  and 
massacre.  Here  they  received  a  concession  of  some  land  in  the  hilly  district  about 
the  sources  of  the  Moruka,  where  they  settled,  cultivating  the  soil,  intermarrying 
with  the  Arawaks,  and  thus  reverting  to  the  Indian  type.  Later  some  Portu- 
guese immigrants  mingled  with  these  half-breeds,  while  the  discovery  of  the 
gold  mines  brought  them  in  contact  with  the  cosmopolitan  populations  of  the 
auriferous  districts. 

Till  recently  the  Arawaks,  who  have  their  camping-grounds  on  the  banks  of 
the  Aruka,  a  western  affluent  of  the  Barima,  kept  completely  aloof  from  the 
whites,  and  of  all  the  natives  these  alone  were  unfamiliar  with  the  English 
language.  As  amongst  the  Caribs  of  the  West  Indies,  some  traces  of  bilingual 
speech  have  been  discovered  amongst  them,  a  phenomenon  which  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  intermingling  of  two  races  as  the  result  of  conquest. 

The  Arawaks  have  preserved  many  of  the  old  national  usages,  amongst  others 
certain  tests  of  endurance,  such  as  the  whip-game  or  dance,  in  which  the  dancers, 
all  being  men,  "stand  in  two  rows  opposite  each  other.     Each  man  has  in  his 


•;  •   1 1 


u 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  I'li.VTA. 


handu  whip  with  a  liurd  strong  lush  niiido  of  fibre,  Evorj-  now  uiid  then  a  couple 
retire  from  the  lino  and  uso  their  whips.  One  stands  steadily,  one  leg  in  front 
of  the  otlior  ;  the  other  swings  back  his  whip,  and,  with  uU  the  force  ho  can 
command,  lushes  the  calf  of  the  first  mun's  leg.  Then  in  iiis  turn  the  s  >cond  man 
stands  still  to  receive  a  lash  from  the  other.  They  lasU  each  other  in  this  way 
until  their  calves  are  striped  with  weals  and  blood  Hows  freely.  The  punishment 
is  borne  and  inflicted  with  perfect  good  temper,  and  was  probably  originally 
devised  as  a  test  of  endurance.  Finally  the  dancers  retire  and  drink  together." — 
{[,n  T/uini.) 

Those  Arawaks  appear  to  have  been  by  fur  the  most  civilised  of  all  the 
Guiuna  peoples,  f^r  they  possess  fictile  vases  of  most  varied  forms  embellished 
with  ornaments  and  grotesque  human  and  animal  figures  in  high  relief.  The 
pottery  of  other  Guiana  tribes  is  extremely  simple,  without  any  decorative  work 
beyond  a  few  rude  designs  executed  in  thin  lines.  To  the  Arawaks  should  per- 
haps bo  attributed  the  stone  porringers  met  in  several  parts  of  the  Guiunas,  the 
CTcle  of  standing  stones  seen  by  Harrington  Brown  in  the  Pacarai(na  Mountains, 
and  resembling  that  of  Stanton  Moor,  the  timehri  or  inscribed  rocks  of  the  Ber- 
bice,  Corentyne,  and  Maroni  rivers,  covered  with  figures  of  men  and  animals, 
especially  frogs,  together  with  other  eccentric  forms,  some  shallow,  some  deeply 

incised. 

Thk  "Wapisianas  and    Atorais. 

Tlie  Wapisianas  and  Atorais,  who  dwell  about  the  region  of  the  water-parting, 
being  rarely  visited  by  the  English  travellers,  have  still  preserved  their  primitive 
type.  The  Atorais  would  probably  be  the  losers  by  miscegenation  with  other 
tribes,  for  their  women  are  distinguished  by  remarkably  perfect  figures  and 
great  dignity  of  expression.  The  profile  of  the  face  differs  little  from  that  of 
Europeans,  and  the  complexion  is  almost  white.  According  to  Coudreau,  many  of 
the  Atorais  are  no  darker  than  the  Andalusians,  the  Sicilians,  or  the  peasantry  of 
South  France. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Wapisianas  are  of  a  browner  colour,  with  less  regular 
features  and  less  graceful  carriage.  Like  the  Atorais,  they  have  a  hairless  face 
with  only  a  few  short  bristles  on  the  upper  lip  and  chin,  while  the  hair  of  the  head 
is  very  abundant.  Both  stxes  pierce  the  lower  lip  with  at  least  two  pins,  and 
insert  another  in  the  cartilage  of  the  nose,  to  which  they  attach  a  piece  of  metal. 
This,  it  would  seem,  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  tribe.  Formerly  the  Wapisiana 
girls  were  obliged  to  have  the  two  upper  incisors  extracted ;  but  this  custom 
appears  to  have  fallen  into  abeyance. 

These  natives  wear  nothing  but  the  oalembe,  the  loin-cloth  of  the  negroes ;  but 
they  pay  great  attention  to  the  head-dress  and  other  personal  embellishments, 
decking  themselves  with  all  the  beads,  coins,  and  trinkets  they  can  pick  up. 
Maize  is  grown,  but  only  to  extract  from  the  grain  a  kind  of  beer,  called  cashiri, 
which  throws  the  drinkers  into  a  state  of  hilarious  intoxication.  It  is  during 
these  orgies  that  the  young  men's  brides  are  usually  carried  off,  marriage  being 
still  made  amongst  the  Atorais  and  Wapisianas  by  abduction. 


'"*%i 


INilAUrrANTd  ()!''  OUIANA. 


8ft 


Liko  most  other  Guiuna  tribca,  tho  WupisiuimB  pructJHc  tho  Htrango  cuntom  of 
ouuvudo.  Throughout  the  rogiouof  tho  dividu  butwooti  tho  Takutu  und  KsHiM|uibo 
bu.siuM,  tiicir  lunguiige  has  becoino  tho  chiuf  modiutn  of  Iriido  uud  gonoral  inter' 
eourHO  between  the  Hurrounding  groups,  even  those  of  Curib  origin.  Tho  Atorais, 
or  at  Icust  tho  men,  huve  uhnost  complotoly  given  up  their  own  in  fuvour  of  tho 
soft  and  sonorous  Wupisiuna  tongue,  which,  being  highly  vocalic,  is  well  suited  for 
oratory. 

Amongst  the  indigenous  tribes  connected  with  tho  Arawuks  shouhl  perhaps 
be  included  tho  Wurruus  (Guaraunos)  of  l^ritish  Guiuna,  who  luivo  their  camping 
grounds  in  the  wooded  alluvial  tracts  of  tho  north-west,  and  who  have  partly 
adopted  Christianity.     Scarcely  differing  from  those  of  the  Orinoco  delta,  they  live 


fcing 


Fig.   10.— Indiaub  of  the  Quianas. 

Scale  I':  11,000,000. 


(A)  Arawalu. 


(C)Carib«.  (T)  Tupi. 

___i_  186  Mile*. 


like  them  in  cabins  built  and  entirely  furnished  with  the  wood,  leaves,  and  fibre  of 
the  Mauritia  palm,  from  which  plant  they  olso  procure  their  clothing,  food,  and 
drink.  The  Warraus  never  perform  any  ablutions,  in  this  respect  differing 
altogether  from  most  of  the  other  natives,  who  take  great  delight  in  bathing. 

When  there  are  any  family  disputes  to  settle,  the  tribe  gathers  on  some  sand- 
bank, where  the  men  of  all  ages  range  themselves  in  two  opposite  rows  armed  with 
shields  made  of  the  Mauritia  palm.  Then  all  advance,  each  facing  an  opponent 
and  watching  his  opportunity  to  spring  fni  ward  and  thrust  him  back.  The  shields 
now  meet  and  clash,  the  two  antagonists  planting  one  foot  firmly  on  the  ground, 
and  pushing  with  the  knee  of  the  other  leg  with  might  and  main  against  his 
opponent's  shield.     Whoever  succeeds  in  forcing  the  other  back  from  his  position 


m 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


i'.  ■     I 


is  (l(<oin«>(l  to  hiivo  guiiiod  tlio  caso  in  diMputo,  whicth  is  accordingly  nettled  in  favour 
of  tli(>  Hide  which  huH  proved  nioftt  aucccNNfiil  in  thin  wreNtling  mutch.  All  tho 
Wurniu  women,  siiyi?  Uichurd  Schomhurgk,  hiivc  a  profoundly  mid  and  indu8orib- 
ultly  Hoft  physiugnomy. 

Thk  Cahihs. 

The  Carib  (Caraib)  division  bus  reprosentufivos  in  every  part  of  tho  Ouiunas, 
and  3onio  of  the  tribes  even  bear  tho  general  name  of  the  whole  family.     One  of 

Fig.  11.— Qaubi  Max. 


these  groups  is  settled  at  Warramuri,  west  of  the  Moruka  estuary,  close  to  an 
enormous  shell  mound  and  other  kitchen  refuse,  attesting  a  long  sojourn  of  several 
centuries  in  the  district.  To  these  natives  Everard  im  Thum  gives  the  distinctive 
name  of  "  true  Caribs,"  on  the  assumption  that  they  landed  here  on  their  arrival 
from  the  West  Indies,  supposed  by  him  to  be  the  original  home  of  the  race.  This 
view  is  so  fur  confirmed  by  certain  legends  bringing  them  from  \ihe  north,  while 


f\A\ 


Ifwln 


'"'■'11 


,.j.  ^-'".ti 


•::;^S3r?s*Sfe:5j-  - 


m< 
wc 
to 

mo 


I  Ml 


A, 


two  cent 
present  f 
rivers,  ni 
Anot 
have  helc 
famous  ] 


M 


•^•< 


IXHABITANTS  OP  GUIANA. 


87 


the  Curibs  themselves  chiim  to  have  desoonded  from  above  through  a  hole  iu  the 
sky. 

But  most  American  ethnologists  look  on  the  central  regions  of  Brazil  as  the 
most  probable  cradle  of  the  Carib  race,  in  which  case  the  expression  "  true  Caribs  " 
would  be  more  applicable  to  the  tribes  dwelling  in  the  interior  of  the  Guianas  than 
to  those  now  settled  on  tlie  seaboard.  The  Gulibi  of  French  Guiana,  who  are 
also  of  pure  Carib  stock,  and  who  even  bear  this  name  under  a  somewhat 
more  euphonious  form,  have  occupied  Uie  coast  zone  west  of  Cayenne  for  at  least 

Fig.  12.— Gaubi  Woman. 


two  centuries  and  a  half.  Here  they  had  some  twenty  villages  in  1652,  and  at 
present  some  of  their  settlements  are  scattered  along  the  Sinnamari  and  Iracubo 
rivers,  and  especially  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Maroni. 

Another  Carib  people,  the  Calinas,  remnant  of  a  great  and  powerful  nation, 
have  held  their  ground  in  the  Surinam  valley.     To  the  same   stock  belong  the 
famous  Roucouyennes  of  the  interior,  who  are  so  named  by  the  Creoles  from  the 
37  '■.;   i>  ■:^,,-'  ■      ,„!,;■:■,;■:■:  ■^;^.C- -■-  ■■ ■■-;■•- 


:f^f-t7:^~- 


88 


AMAZOXIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


roucou  (rucu)  with  which  they  paint  their  bodies,  but  who  call  themselves  Wayana, 
perhaps  another  form  of  the  word  Guiana. 

The  fine  Akawoi  (Waika  or  Kapohn)  Indians  of  the  mountainous  districts  of 
British  Guiana  watered  by  the  Ma/aruni,  the  Partamonas  of  the  Potaro  river,  the 
formidable  Arecuuas,  who  dwell  in  the  upland  valleys  about  Roraima,  the  Wuye- 
w^s  of  the  Upper  Essequibo,  the  Tairas  of  French  Guiuna,  laatly  the  Macusi  about 
the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Brauco,  all  belong  to  the  widespread  Carib  family,  and 
speak  closely  related  dialects  of  the  same  stock  language.  Like  the  Wapisiana  in  the 
dividing  range  between  the  Essoquibo  and  Rio  Branco,  the  Galibi  tongue  has 
become  a  sort  of  lingua  franca  for  all  these  tribes.  Several  Carib  words,  such 
as  cai/man,  toucan,  and  hammock,  have  found  currency  in  the  European  languages. 

In  general,  the  Caribs  of  Guiana  are  inferior  in  physique  to  the  Arawaks, 
especially  if  the  Atorais  be  taken  as  the  type  of  this  race.  The  Galibi  have  short, 
slender  figures,  while  their  round,  soft,  and  beardless  face  gives  them  a  feminine 
look.  The  Mauusi,  though  more  hirsute,  have  heavier  frames  and  more  miissive 
figures. 

Like  most  Indians,  the  Roucou^'ennes  look  taller  than  they  are,  which  is  due 
to  the  length  and  fulness  of  the  bust  contrasting  with  the  slight  development  of  the 
extremities.  The  long  bandages  in  which  they  wrap  themselves  in  accordance 
with  their  hygienic  ideas  give  them  the  appearance  of  groat  corpulence.  Their 
figures  are  very  short,  while  the  feet  are  broad  and  flat,  and  the  eyelids  slightly 
oblique,  as  with  the  Chinese.  They  have  the  habit  of  plucking  out  the  eyebrows 
•*  the  better  to  see,"  as  they  say,  but  more  probably  as  an  offering  to  the  sun.* 
Some  of  the  Galibi  tribes  also  follow  the  Wapisiana  fashion  of  piercing  the  lower 
lip  with  bits  of  bone  or  a  peg,  which  they  keep  constantly  moving  with  the  tongue, 
and  of  causing  the  calves  to  swell  by  means  of  wide  garters  tightly  clasped  below 
the  knee. 

The  Tupi  and  othek  Aborigines. 

The  Tupi,  who  form  the  third  ethnical  division  of  the  Guianas,  are  a  branch 
of  the  great  Brazilian  race  represented  by  hundreds  of  tribal  groups  between  the 
Maroni  and  Plate  rivers.  In  Guiana  territory  the  two  chief  Tupi  tribes  are  the 
Oyampi  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  range  about  the  Upper  Oyapok,  and  the  Emerillons, 
who  dwell  farther  west  between  the  Approuague  and  the  Maroni  affluents.  Both 
are  skilled  agriculturists,  raising  quantities  of  manioc  for  the  gold  hunters,  with 
whom  they  are  becoming  assimilated  in  speech  and  costume. 

But  amongst  the  tribes  of  these  inland  regions  several  still  survive  whose  lan- 
guage is  unknown,  and  whom  it  is  not  yet  possible  to  affiliate  to  any  of  the  sur- 
rounding ethnical  stocks.  Such  are  the  Oyaricoulets,  who  are  reported  to  occupy 
the  valley  of  the  Itani,  which  flows  through  the  Awa  to  the  Maroni.  According 
to  local  report — for  no  traveller  has  yet  described  them  from  personal  observation — 
they  have  a  white  complexion,  with  blue  eyes  and  light  beard ;  hence  some  writers 
have  felt  inclined  to  regard  them  as  whites  keeping  aloof  from  their  European 

*  tUe  Reolus,  MS.  Notes. 


■iwliwrfciiliiiBijiin 


illlcVillWil 


ii,»^l!li,^4,j!,i^i.;yi.^ji|)l-'> 


")l|>^iyiiyjw»iji^^t 


TXUAUITANTS  OP  GUIANA. 


89 


kindred.     Coiulreau,  however,  was  assured  by  the  Roucouyenuea  that  these  Oyari- 
coulets  were  "  like  the  other  Indians." 

In  British  Guiana  rumour  speaks  also  of  the  fabulous  Didi,  a  hairy  race,  whom 
all  the  other  natives  dread  without  ever  having  seen  them.  But  in  these  regions, 
when  an  Indian  is  afraid  of  seeing  any  formidoble  being,  or  even  a  rock  of 
fantastic  shape,  he  rubs  his  eyes  with  red  pepper.  Then,  seeing  nothing,  he  is 
happy  in  the  thought  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  seen. 

Generai-  Chakacteristics  of  the  Guiana  Indians. 

But  to  whatever  ethnical  divisions  the  Guiana  Indians  may  belong,  they  have 
all  very  much  the  same  usages.  Were  habits  and  customs  to  be  taken  as  a 
criterion  of  racial  affinity,  many  peoples  of  different  speech  would  have  to  be 
classed  together.  Thus  the  Galibi,  Oyambi,  Emerillons,  and  Wapisianas,  all 
practising  the  couvade,  would  be  grouped  in  the  same  category.  But  such 
resemblances  may  be  due  rather  to  a  common  environment  and  like  economic 
conditions  than  to  blood  relationship. 

In  none  of  the  tribes  has  authority  been  firmly  established  on  the  model  intro- 
duced by  the  European  settlers.  Certain  persons  may  bear  more  or  less  distinctive 
titles ;  but  for  all  that  they  are  not  true  "  chiefs  "  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  term.  Their  personal  qualities  may  ensure  them  great  influence,  but  they 
lust  not  interfere  so  far  as  to  issue  orders.  Each  member  of  the  tribe  enjoys 
.uU  personal  liberty  in  all  his  movements  and  actions.  This  freedom  extends 
even  to  the  children,  who  are  never  punished.  "  Dogs  alone  are  beaten,"  says  a 
Macusi  proverb. 

Nevertheless,  the  ordeals  formerly  inflicted  on  the  young  of  both  sexes  on 
reaching  the  adult  period  were  atrocious.  Thus  the  mother  suourged  her  daughter 
while  father  and  brothers  slept,  and  woe  to  her  if  her  cries  roused  them  from  their 
slumbers.  Amongst  the  lloucouyeunes  the  initiatory  rites  consisted  in  subjecting 
both  boys  and  girls  to  the  sting  of  wasps  and  bite  of  ants.  The  unhappy  viclim-s 
swooned  away  in  sheer  agony  without  uttering  a  groan. 

To  their  healing  and  divining  powers  the  peatmen  {piai,  pvyai,  pearlznn,  or 
medicine-men)  are  indebted  for  a  larger  share  of  moral  authority  than  that  of  the 
so-called  chiefs  ;  but  even  they  would  never  presume  to  exercise  any  direct 
control.  Perhaps  the  veneration  in  which  they  were  formerly  held  should  in 
great  measure  be  attributed  to  the  severe  trials  which  they  had  to  undergo  before 
being  considered  worthy  of  admittance  into  this  primitive  order  of  priesthood. 
More  than  one  of  the  candidates  succumbed  to  the  prolonged  hardships  they  hud 
to  suffer  during  the  terrible  years  of  novitiate. 

But  at  present  the  preliminary  training  has  been  greatly  mitigated  and 
curtailed.  The  chief  instrument  of  the  rite  is  the  maraca,  a  small  calabash 
about  the  size  of  the  fist  enclosing  a  few  rattling  pebbles.  This  maraca  serves 
to  scare  the  devil  and,  if  need  be,  to  raise  him,  especially  when  a  kenaima  or 
avenger  has  to  be  summoned  in  case  of  bloodshed.  Inspired  by  the  relentless 
spirit  of  the  vendetta,  the  man  who  undertakes  the  duty  of  following  and  killing 


W, 


*■■% 


40 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


iW 


the  wrong-door,  or,  failing  to  find  him,  any  of  his  kindred,  is  no  longer  a  respecter 
of  persons ;  for  the  time  being  he  has  neither  clan  nor  family  ;  he  disappears  in 
the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  does  not  again  show  himself  in  public  until  he  has 
throttled,  poisoned,  or  even  tortured  his  victim.  But  the  kenaima  plays  many 
parts,  and  to  his  malevolence  are  usually  accredited  all  diseases ;  henco  to  circum- 
vent him  trees  are  often  cut  down  and  strewn  across  his  presumed  track. 

In  some  tribes,  and  especially  amongst  the  Roucouyennes,  the  dead  are  still 
occasionally  cremated,  all  their  belongings  being  heaped  on  the  pyre  and  con- 
8umed  with  the  body.  AH  travellers  are  unanimous  in  asserting  the  former 
prevalence  of  anthropophagy.  But  the  chief  tribes  that  were  addicted  to  this 
horrible  practice,  such  as  the  Nouragues  of  the  Approuague  valley  and  the 
Acoquas  of  the  Tumuc-IIumac  mountains,  have  already  disappeared.  Amongst 
the  descendants  of  these  cannibal  tribes  are  mentioned  the  Tairas  and  the  Oyampi. 

So  recently  as  1830  the  Oyampi  still  sang  the  burden  of  the  songs  celebrating 
the  old  rites :  "  In  the  olden  time  we  were  men,  we  ate  our  enemies  ;  now  like 
women,  we  eat  nothing  but  manioc."  The  very  word  Oyampi  would  appear  to 
mean  "  Men-eaters."  But  it  may  be  confidently  stated  that  since  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  cannibalism  has  completely  ceased  amongst  all  the  known 
tribes.  The  Caribs  burnt  the  heart  of  the  vanquished  foe,  and  mingled  its  ashes 
with  their  drink. 

The  largest  share  in  the  steady  decrease  of  the  native  populations  is  taken  by  the 
warlike  tribes,  who  have  generally  best  preserved  their  racial  purity.  More  than 
hiilf  of  the  groups  mentioned  by  the  old  writers  have  already  disappeared. 
Nevertheless  the  survivors  are  still  far  more  numerous  than  is  commonly  supposed. 
Explorers  ascending  the  rivers  often  overlook  the  groups  encamped  in  the  recesses 
of  the  forests.  The  indigenous  population  of  the  Guiana  seaboard,  exclusive  of 
the  Amazonian  slopes,  would  appear  to  still  numt)er  about  8,000. 

The  Bi-acks — the  Bush  Negkoes. 

Thanks  to  the  slave  trade  an  African  population  has  been  introduced  into  the 
Guianas,  chiefly  by  the  Antilles  route,  which,  jointly  with  the  half-castes,  far 
outnumbers  the  aborigines.  Tistributed  at  first  in  the  plantations  of  the  coast- 
lands,  and  afterwards  removed  by  their  owners  to  the  towns  as  domestic  servants, 
the  negroes  have  everywhere  throughout  this  region  supplanted  the  aborigines, 
who  have  retired  before  the  progress  of  culture  farther  and  farther  into  the  back- 
woods. 

A  stop  was  put  to  the  importation  of  black  labour  in  the  Guianas  by  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  first  proclaimed  in  the  French  territory  in  1794,  and  later 
carried  out  eilectively  in  British  Guiana  in  1838,  and  successively  thereafter  in 
tlie  other  ooloniea.  Nevertheless  a  part  of  the  overflowing  black  population  of 
Barbadoes  found  its  way  to  the  Guianas,  thus  continuing  the  movement  of  African 
immigration  by  new  elements  under  new  conditions.  Thousands  of  free  Kroomen 
from  Liberia  also  find  employment  in  the  timber-yards  and  as  sailors  on  board 
the  coasting  vessels.     But  after  procuring  by  strenuous  efforts  enough  money  to 


'■^l,v'-^'S^'^  '3«3*?^>J^5«K!*#_-Srs9L**E^'er*f'Tsri>»»!ra^s 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUIANA. 


41 


le 


purchase   several  wives,  these  natives  of  Liberia  usually  return  to  their  native 
luud. 

At  present  the  Guiana  negroes  form  two  natural  groups — the  descendants 
of  the  slaves  who,  after  intermingling  with  the  free  immigrants,  have  always 
remained  in  contact  with  the  white  settlers  on  the  coa«t,  and  the  independent 
blacks,  who  live  in  the  interior  of  the  country.  These  descendants  of  the 
Maroons,  or  runaway  slaves,  who  have  now  become  peaceful  citizens,  reconciled 
with  the  offspring  of  their  former  masters,  are  universally  known  as  Hush 
Negroes,  the  Jiosch  Negei's  of  the  Dutch,  and  the  Negves  Boeh  or  Nigrcs  des  Hois 
of  the  French. 

But,  despite  their  name,  these  blacks  do  not  roam  the  woods  like  wild  game, 
but  are,  on  the  contrary,  peaceful  agriculturists,  settled  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  where  they  occupy  permanent  villages  surrounded  by  cultivated  lands. 
Negro  republics  have  been  founded  in  the  British,  Dutch,  and  French  territories ; 
but  the  most  numerous  groups  have  established  themselves  in  the  Surinam  and 
Maroni  river  basins. 

The  first  migrations  took  place  in  the  year  1663,  when  the  Portuguese  Jews 
of  the  Surinam  valley  sent  their  slaves  to  the  forests  in  order  to  avoid  the  poll- 
tux,  hoping  they  would  return  as  soon  as  the  tax-gatherers*  backs  were  turned. 
But  the  fugitives,  having  tasted  freedom,  remained  in  their  camping-grounds. 
About  fifty  years  later  (1712)  some  French  marauders  having  invaded  the  Suri- 
nam and  Commewijne  riverside  plantations,  the  proprietors  took  refuge  in  the 
capital,  leaving  their  slaves  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  majority  joined  the 
French  in  plundering  the  abandoned  houses,  and  ou  the  return  of  the  owners 
took  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  forests,  where  they  began  a  protracted  war  of 
pillage  and  reprisals  with  the  whites. 

The  number  of  predatory  bands  increased  from  year  to  year,  and  suddenly',  in 
1730,  a  formidable  insurrection  broke  out  in  the  Upper  Surinam  basin  on  the 
plantations  belonging  to  the  Government  itself.  The  struggle  lasted  with  vary- 
ing success  for  nearly  20  years,  when  the  authorities  were  fain  to  recognise  the 
insurgents  as  belligerents  and  freemen.  Then  followed  a  treaty  of  peace,  in  which 
the  boundaries  of  the  independent  territory  were  determined. 

Other  risings  took  place  in  1757,  when  Arabi,  a  chief  probably  of  Mahom- 
medan  origin,  defeated  the  Dutch  planters,  and  in  1761  compelled  the  Government 
to  agree  to  terms  of  peace  in  the  treaty  of  Auca,  from  which  the  principal  black 
republic  became  known  as  that  of  the  "  Aucan  (Jocan,  Yukan)  Negroes."  Ne.\t 
year  another  group,  that  of  the  Maroons  of  the  Saram-jcca  river,  also  secured  its 
political  independence.  Later  other  communities  were  established,  such  as  those 
of  the  Poligudus  (Poregoedoe)  and  of  the  Paramaccas  on  the  Upper  Maroni,  the 
Koffi,  Becoes,  Matrocanes,  or  Musingas. 

In  1772  Boni,  the  legendary  hero  of  the  Bush  Negroes,  led  his  bands  nearly 
up  to  the  very  walls  of  Paramaribo.  Regular  war  had  to  be  declared  against  him, 
and  an  anny  of  1,200  men  despatched  from  Europe,  one  of  the  chief  officers  being 
Stedman,  well  known  for  his  excellent  work  on  Guiana.    The  war  lasted  several 


42 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


years,  during  which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  expedition  perished,  scarcely  20 
of  ihe  men  returning  in  good  health  to  Europe.  At  last  an  alliance  with  the 
Aucans,  who  had  remained  loyal  to  their  treaty  eiigagementB,  enabled  the  Dutch 
to  drive  Boni  back  to  the  foot  of  the  Tumuc-Humac  mountains. 

As  a  general  rule  the  negroes  of  the  interior  succeeded  in  asserting  their 
independence,  while  the  slaves  on  the  coastlands  about  Paramaribo  and  the  forts 
were  crushed  by  the  disciplined  troops  opposed  to  them.  The  Maroons  of  the 
West  Indies,  even  those  of  the  large  island  of  Jamaica,  were  never  able  to  make 
head  against  regular  soldiers  proceeding  systematically  to  the  general  occupation 
of  the  islands  by  erecting  forts  and  opening  strategical  routes.  But  the  Bush 
Negroes  of  Guiana  had  space  in  their  favour.  They  were  always  free  to  retire 
farther  and  farther  towards  the  unknown  interior,  and  thus  escape  the  pursuit  of 
their  owners. 

Various  estimates  ranging  from  about  8,000  to  some  20,000  have  been  made  of 
these  Bush  Negroes,  who  till  recently  enjoyed  absolute  independence,  but  who  are 
now  being  brought  gradually  under  the  control  of  the  central  administrations. 
Owing  to  the  interminglings  brought  about  by  slavery,  migrations,  and  wars,  all 
memory  of  the  original  stock  races  has  perished,  and  the  only  known  fact,  obvious 
enough  in  itself,  is  the  almost  pure  African  descent  of  the  Maroons.  Of  these,  the 
finest  and  most  civilised  are  the  Aucans,  while  the  most  degraded  by  isolation  and 
poverty  are  those  belonging  to  the  Matrocane  communities. 

But  according  to  Gilford  Palgrave,  all  alike  present  a  perfectly  African  type. 
"  The  men  are  often  six  feet  and  more  in  height,  with  well-developed  limbs  and 
pleasing  open  countenance ;  and  the  women  in  every  physical  respect  are,  to  say 
the  least,  worthy  of  their  males.  Ill-modelled  trunks  and  disproportioned  limbs 
are,  in  fact,  as  rare  among  them  as  they  are  common  among  some  lighter-com- 
plexioned  races.  Their  colour  is,  in  general,  very  dark,  and  gives  no  token  of  the 
gradual  tendency  to  assume  a  fairer  tint  that  may  be  observed  among  the  de- 
scendants of  negroes  residing  in  more  northerly  latitudes.  Their  hair,  too,  is  as 
curly  as  that  of  any  Niam-Niam  or  Darfooree  chief,  or  native  of  Senegal.  I 
have  heard  it  asserted  more  often  than  once  that,  by  long  domicilement  in  the 
South  American  continent,  the  negro  type  has  a  tendency  to  mould  itself  into  one 
approaching  that  of  the  Indian  aboriginal ;  and  something  of  the  kind  might  be 
looked  for,  if  anywhere,  among  the  Bush  Negroes  of  the  Surinam  interior.  But 
in  the  specimens  that  I  saw,  and  they  were  many,  I  could  not  detect  any  such 
modification."  * 

Nevertheless,  both  Paul  Levy,  who  has  lived  with  the  negroes  of  the  auriferous 
regions,  and  Carl  Appun,  who  resided  many  years  in  British  Guiana,  affirm  that 
the  tendency  is  perceptible.  The  colour  of  the  skin  would  appear  to  be  less 
black,  the  hair  longer  and  less  woolly.  But  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish 
between  full-blood  and  half-caste  types,  and  interminglings  have  taken  place  not 
only  between  blacks  and  Europeans,  but  also  between  blacks  and  Indians.  Thus 
the    Curbougres   (Karboegers)  of    the  Cojipename  river  are  the  issue  of  negro 

•  J)utoh  Guiana,  p.  170. 


'Tl'*jS^JE 


*]ms;^w,  ^if  .yiiivyin^i" 


,ijii|.u«,!;il)jl!i  wi^i.. 


:^ 


'■gAyw*'^'^'^"''^^' '''•'"' 


INHABITANTS  OP  GUIANA. 


48 


troud 

[that 
leas 

kuish 

not 

ihus 

legro 


fiithors  and  Indian  mothers,  and  eonspquently  any  inferences  drawn  from  their 
uppearance  would  be  fallacious. 

Some  few  words  of  the  African  negro  or  Bantu  dialects  are  said  to  have  been 
preserved  in  the  language  of  the  Maroons,  which  has  an  English  basis  with  a  very 
large  Portuguese  element.  Next  in  order  of  importance  come  the  Dutch  and 
French  contributions,  all  uttered  with  the  thick  soft  African  pronunciation,  and 
connected  together  by  an  extremely  simple  syntax.  But  this  primitive  jargon 
is  gradually  yielding  to  the  cultured  languages,  English,  Dutch,  French,  and  Por- 
tuguese, of  the  European  settlers. 

Descendants  of  the  black  insurgents,  whose  war-cry  everywhere  was  "  Land  and 

Fig.  13. — Inhabitants  of  Guiana. 

Scale  1 :  18,000,000. 


Bugb  NeRToes. 


Indian!, 


Clviliwd  or 
DHiinilatfd. 


310  M  iles. 


Liberty,"  the  Bush  Negroes  have  all  remained  agriculturists.  They  grow  sufficient 
produce  for  their  own  consumption,  and  also  supply  the  towns  and  plantations  of  the 
seaboard  with  rice.  But  their  main  resource  is  wood-cutting,  which  is  exclusively 
in  their  hands.  They  fell  the  large  forest  trees  suitable  for  building  and  cabinet 
work,  and  convey  the  lumber  to  Paramaribo  by  the  rivers  and  canals.  They  run 
little  risk  of  losing  this  monopoly,  thanks  to  their  sober  habits,  by  which  they  are 
favourably  distinguished  from  the  aborigines.  They  have,  however,  suffered  from 
the  demoralisation  rampant  in  the  gold-mining  districts.  Indispensable  as  boat- 
men on  the  upper  courses  of  the  rivers,  they  show  remarkable  skill  in  managing 
their  coriala  or  curiares,  and  the  light  craft  to  which  the  English  have  given  Ihe 


44 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


nnmo  of  "  wootl-skitis."  These  arc  frnil  canoes  macle  from  flie  btiik  of  copaifern 
pnhliflora  or  of  /if/iixriira  coiirhnri/,  like  tho  bircb-burk  cuiioos  of  the  Huron 
Indians. 

So  early  as  IT-'JO,  the  Moravian  nii.isionaries  bud  already  founded  stations 
amongst,  tbo  Bush  populations,  but  tbey  have  had  little  success  e.xcept  witli  the 
Moesinga  communities.  From  a  vague  reminiscence  of  tho  teachings  received 
during  tho  period  of  slavery  on  tho  plantations,  the  negroes  have  retained  a  sort 
of  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being,  creator  of  muii,  monkeys,  and  manioc,  on  tho  whole 
H  beneficent  deity,  whose  wife  was  called  Jfaria,  and  whose  son  bore  the  name  of 
Ji'st  Kixti.  But  apart  from  this  shred  of  Christianity,  most  of  the  Bushmen  have 
preserved  their  nature  worship,  and,  in  fact,  "  they  believe  what  their  mothers 
believed."  But  the  fervour  even  of  this  primitive  cult  seems  to  be  on  the  wane 
in  most  of  their  villages,  and  tho  fetishes  and  ffddiia  or  effigies  of  tutelar  animals 
have  generally  disappeared  from  the  neighbourhood  of  tho  white  settlements. 

At  j)re8ent  tho  chief  object  of  negro  worship  is  the  ceiba  or  cotton-tree,  that 
noblest  forest  growth  of  tlie  West  Indies,  which  rises  in  solitary  grandeur  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  settlements,  its  wide-spreading  branches  affording  shelter  to  the 
community  like  some  beneficent  deity.  Traces  may  often  be  seen  of  offerings, 
such  as  fowls,  yams,  libations  of  drink,  scattered  round  its  stem,  the  object  being 
to  propitiate  the  spirit  dwelling  in  its  branches,  who  is  of  a  beneficent  disposition, 
unlike  his  demon  brother  of  the  poison  tree  JJiari,  who  also  finds  some  votaries 
inspired  rather  by  fear  than  gratitude. 

No  idols  properly  so  called  are  worshipped,  but  the  negroes  of  the  more 
inland  districts  cover  themselves  with  obeeufm  or  amulets  of  shells,  bones,  or 
feathers;  such  charms  are  even  hung  round  the  necks  of  tlieir  dogs  to  improve 
their  scent  in  the  chase.  A  curious  trait  is  the  custom  of  bringing  buck  and 
burying  with  all  honours  the  hair  of  those  who  may  happen  to  die  at  a  distance 
from  their  homes. 

These  communities  dwell  in  peace  unruffled  by  the  wranglings  of  rival  chiefs 
contending  for  the  supreme  power.  Enjoying  an  equal  share  of  comfort,  the 
Bush  Negroes  also  enjoy  absolutely  equal  rights.  Nevertheless  every  village  has 
its  nominal  headman  nearly  always  chosen  from  the  same  family,  and  distinguished 
amongst  his  fellow-citizens,  not  by  any  personal  authority,  but  by  the  privilege 
of  parading  on  feast  days  in  a  military  uniform  and  flourishing  a  gold-headed 
cane  in  public. 

But  the  chiefs  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  those  of  the  Aucan  community,  bear  the 
distinctive  title  of  Gramman,  from  the  English  "  Grand  Man."  The  Aucan  chief 
is  allowed  a  respectful  precedence  by  his  Saramaccan  and  Moesinga  colleagues, 
and  is,  in  fuct,  recognised  as  the  overlord  of  all  the  Surinam  Bush  Negroes,  though 
in  rank  and  title  rather  than  in  power.  His  pedigree  goes  back  to  the  first 
Aucan  chief,  Pamo,  but  in  the  female  line,  the  matriarchal  traditions  having  been 
preserved  from  times  anterior  to  the  period  of  slavery.  The  Gramman  is  even 
recognised  by  the  Dutch  Government,  which,  however,  has  taken  the  precaution 
to  provide  him  with  a  European  Resident  under  the  title  of  Posthoudcr.     This 


"HfWB 


INHABITANTS  OP  GUIANA. 


46 


"  PoHtlioldur  *'  wiiR  formorly  a  simple  dologute  from  the  whites,  who  at  lust  became 
the  chief  mngistiute  and  arbitrator  in  lawsuits  between  private  persons  and  in 
differences  between  the  various  village  communities.  The  Qrammun  of  the  IJoni 
people  in  French  Guiuna  is  no  longer  mnch  more  than  a  civil  functionary  receiv- 
ing a  regulur  subsidy  from  the  Colonial  (lovernmont. 

Like  the  aborigines,  the  negroes,  other  than  the  immigrants  from  Trinidad, 
Uarbadoes,  and  Martinique,  are  decreasing,  although  the  climate  of  the  Quiuiuis 
appears  to  bo  as  favourable  to  the  black  race  as  it  is  unfavourable  to  l']iiropoan8. 
Miscegenation  with  other  races  raaj',  to  a  small  extent,  explain  this  decrease ;  but 
even  amongst  those  living  apart,  as  well  as  amongst  those  intermingled  with  the 
cosmopolitan  populations  of  the  towns  and  coastlunds,  the  number  of  deaths 
exceeds  that  of  the  births  everywhere  except  amongst  the  Aucans.  In  the  last 
century  it  was  supposed  that  the  Africans  could  never  multiply  in  Guiana,  because 
nearly  all  'he  infants  died  of  convulsions  during  the  first  nine  days  after  birth. 

This  excessive  mortality  is  attributad  by  Palgrave  to  the  ill-regulated  affection 
of  the  molhera  for  their  offspring,  wliom  they  literally  "kill  with  kindness," 
which  takes  the  form  of  overfeeding.  liut  this  cause  being  prevalent  elsewhere 
as  well  as  in  Guiana,  some  other  explanation  must  be  souglit.  It  would  seem,  in 
fact,  that  the  blacks  have  not  yet  become  perfectly  acclimatised,  as  shown  by  their 
feeble  resistance  to  such  disorders  as  leprosy,  elejihantiasis,  small-pox,  and  many 
others,  which  commit  great  havoc  amongst  them.  Those  dwelling  in  the  bush 
are  also  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  lucilia  homiimora,  a  horrible  insect  pest 
which  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  ears  and  nostrils  with  fatal  results. 


3S, 
?^ 

rst 
len 
len 

Ion 
his 


Thk  Coomks— Eukopean  Seitlers. 

After  the  emancipation  most  of  the  freedmen  having  abandoned  the  planta- 
tions either  to  seek  work  in  the  towns  or  else  to  cultivate  their  own  holdings,  the 
great  lando^^ners  had  to  seek  elsewhere  for  labourers.  French  ard  Dutch  Guianas 
were  too  poor  to  import  many  alien  hands ;  but  British  Guiana,  with  its  wider 
extent  of  cultivable  lands,  and  with  the  great  labour  market  of  British  Icaia 
thrown  open  by  the  Government,  has  engaged  no  less  than  170,000  Asiatic 
coolies  since  the  year  1845.  At  present  this  element  represents  fully  one-third  of 
the  whole  population  of  the  English  colony,  the  most  valued  being  the  so-called 
hill-coolies  from  the  uplands  south  of  the  great  Lend  of  the  Ganges.  Emigrant 
offices  have  been  opened  in  Calcutta  and  Madras  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
Demerara  planters,  who  have  also  engaged  a  few  thousand  Chinese  coolies. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Surinam  •  'lanters  have  introduced  labourers  from  Java, 
while  Arabs,  Annamites,  and  Senegal  negroes  have  been  attracted  to  the  French 
colony.  Even  white  labour  has  been  sought,  but  only  '.n  such  markets  as 
Madeira  and  the  Azores,  whose  inhabitants  are  accustomed  to  a  tropical  climate. 
These  immigrants,  collectively  called  "  Portuguese,"  though  a  very  mixed  race, 
seem  destined  to  become  the  true  ethnical  element  of  the  Guianas  of  the  future. 
They  have  already  established  themselves  in  several  districts  beyond  the  zone  of 
plantations  which  it  has  taken  the  French,  Dutch,  and  English  some  two  hun- 


m 


40 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


dred  and  fifry  years  of  patient  labour  to  reclaim  from  tlie  swamps  and  woodlunds. 
h\(jn  the  whites  who  formerly  succeeded  best  in  Dutch  (liiiaua  were  Jews  for  the 
most  part  of  l'ortu<?ueso  origin.  The  chief  group,  a  body  of  Htjbrew  planters 
expelled  from  IJruzil,  arrived  in  1  GO-'},  and  to  their  influence  is  duo  the  large  pro- 
portion of  I'ortugucse  words  that  have  found  their  way  into  the  Creole  language 
of  the  Bush  Negroes. 

All  the  costly  attempts  to  colonise  the  country  with  whites  drawn  from  other 
lands  have  ended  in  disastei.  Individuals  of  strong  constitution  may  no  doubt 
become  acclimatised  by  carefully  observing  all  the  rules  of  health.  But  to  adupt 
whole  families  and  commun  il  groups  to  an  environment  so  differ  t  from  that  of 
Europe  is  certainly  a  far  more  dangerous  and  difficult  experiment  than  to  settle 
them  in  Cjnada  or  the  United  States,  especially  when  the  emigrants  are  deprived 
of  ordinary  comforts  and  even  of  proper  food,  as  has  too  often  been  the  case. 
Although  consumption  is  almost  unknown  on  the  coastlands,  the  new  arrivals  are 
rapidly  decimated  by  the  marsh  fevers,  which  are  most  dangerous,  especially  when 
the  hot  sun  begins  to  suck  up  the  deadly  exhalations  in  the  swampy  districts. 
Since  the  year  1855,  yellow  fever  alRo  has  made  frequent  visits  to  this  sea- 
board. 

Hence  the  Europeans,  although  the  political  masters  of  the  land  and  owners  of 
the  plantations,  have  remained  practically  aliens  in  the  middt  of  a  motley  cosmo- 
politan population,  in  which  the  half-caste  elements  are  steadily  increasing.  Except 
in  some  favourable  years,  the  mortality  is  always  higher  th  in  the  birth  rate,  and 
meanwhile  the  Europeans  of  pure  descont  are  being  outstripped  on  all  sides  by  the 
Portuguese  islanders  from  the  north,  by  the  Brazilians,  also  of  Portuguese  speech, 
from  the  south,  by  the  Spanish  Venezuelans  from  the  west;  in  a  word,  by  intruders 
of  Latin  speech  and  culture  arriving  from  every  quarter. 


i  -i^-^ 


. 


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PT,w»BJ,y 


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WEW  YORK,  r>.  Al'PLETON  8c  C9 


1834. 

Bated  ouUte  Usdat'  liie  Usu\-«rMl  Of^o^t-aphy  aiid  other  recent  Docuniunla 

8c«l«  IISOOOUOO 


M^-M 


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mUi  tt«ifio«MlbUbyihaaa«ol' 
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YORK,  D.  Al'FLETQN  8c  C? 


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'    ' .  J_^^WS-f.'j»i .'  I,  ^PVIl'Ktt.'l'nliW,'!!',  -'«» J'ii:ii»«MiWw^ijljj|)| 


CHAPTER  II. 

British  GriAXA. 

niS  section  of  the  Guianas,  with  its  still  unde'errained  political 
frontiers,  is  by  far  the  most  important,  both  for  population  and 
commercial  activity.  It  is  usually  taken  for  granted,  without  fur- 
ther inquiry,  that  this  remarkable  superiority  of  British  Guiana  as 
a  field  of  enterprise  is  primarily  due  to  the  administrative  genius 
of  the  English.  But  if  this  relative  prosperity  may  at  least  in  part  be  attributed 
to  the  non-intervention  of  the  home  government  in  local  affairs,  to  the  comparatively 
limited  staff  of  office-holders,  and  to  the  continuity  of  the  policy  pursued  towards 
the  colony,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  British  Guiana  also  enjoys  considerable 
natural  as  well  as  political  advantages. 

In  the  first  place,  it  possesses  the  largest  river  basin,  while  its  chief  plantations 
are  more  accessible  to  shipping  both  from  Europe  and  the  West  Indies.  Hence 
these  plantations  had  already  been  profitably  worked  by  the  Dutch  long  before 
the  English  conquest.  The  cultivable  zone  stretches  along  the  coast,  with  a  good 
seaward  outfall  for  drainage  purposes.  Consequently,  numerous  towns  and  villages 
have  been  founded  and  estates  laid  out  in  close  proximity  between  the  Atlantic 
and  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  interior.  But  in  Dutch  Guiana  and  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  French  colony  the  marshy  zone  lies  on  the  coast,  masked  only  by  a 
mangrove  screen  from  the  ocean. 

It  was  easy  to  begin  agricultural  operations  on  the  open  coastlands  of  the 
British  territory,  and,  thanks  to  the  proximity  of  the  West  Indies,  the  first  planters, 
for  the  most  part  Scotchmen,  were  able  without  difficulty  to  procure  all  the  labour 
they  needed.  Since  1802,  when  Great  Britain  occupied  this  northern  part  of 
Guiana,  which  was  officially  ceded  to  her  in  1814,  the  rulers  of  the  land  have 
largely  profited  by  the  neighbourhood  of  the  West  Indian  colonies  to  favour  the 
iinm  ignition  of  the  negroes  of  the  overpeopled  island  of  Barbadoes,  as  well  as  of 
the  large  island  of  Trinidad.  Later,  when  the  emancipation  deprived  the  great 
landowners  of  the  slaves  who  worked  their  estates,  the  Indian  Government  threw 
open  its  coolie  market  for  the  benefit  of  the  wealthy  sugar-growers  of  Demerara. 

All  these  circumstances  secured  for  British  Guiana  a  decided  advantage  over 
(he  conterminous  colonies,  and  as  a  natural  result  this  very  advantage  brought 


n.iiWyiiii'ytiW'l' 


48 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


about  a  better  coratnerciul  stiitus,  a  more  rapid  development  of  its  industrial 
resources,  more  numerous  and  more  active  relations  with  the  outer  world.  All 
actual  progress  acts  as  a  stimulant  of  further  prosperity.  If  British  Ouiana  is  no 
more  a  colony  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  than  are  the  other  two  territories 
under  European  rule,  it  has  at  least  become  a  sphere  of  spontaneous  colonisation 
for  settlers  from  the  West  Indies  and  the  Azores.  In  ordinary  language,  the 
English  speak  of  their  possessions  on  the  South  American  mainland  as  in  fact 
forming  part  of  the  West  Indies. 

The  North -West  District. 

Till  recently  the  zone  of  large  agricultural  domains  was  limited  in  British 
Guiana  to  that  section  of  the  seaboard  which  is  comprised  between  the  Pomerun 
and  Berbice  rivers.  The  north-western  region,  the  possession  of  which  is  con- 
tested by  Venezuela,  remained  uninhabited.  During  the  early  days  of  colonisa- 
tion a  few  Dutch  settlers  had  established  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Pomerun, 
the  first  arrivals  dating  from  the  year  1580.  But  they  had  never  advanced  west- 
wards in  the  direction  of  the  Orinoco.  Their  plantations  on  the  Pomerun  itself 
were  even  abandoned  one  after  the  other,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  only  inhabitants  of  this  district  were  some  Indians  and  negro  half- 
breeds  encamped  in  the  forest  glades.  The  latter  are  descendants  of  runaway 
slaves  who  had  taken  refuge  here  in  1738,  and  whom  their  owners  feared  to 
pursue  ;  but  the  Maroons  on  their  part  did  not  dare  to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  whites,  and  so  joined  the  Indian  tribes. 

Regular  colonisation  in  this  district  was  first  undertaken  by  some  Portuguese 
speculators  about  the  year  1 870,  and  since  then  agricultural  progress  has  been 
continuous  and  rapid.  The  chief  difficulty  was  the  interruption  of  the  communi- 
cations during  the  dry  season.  The  itabbo  or  ditch  connecting  the  Monika  and 
Waini  rivers  is  completely  dry  for  six  months  in  the  year,  and  even  during  this 
period  the  alluvial  lands  are  not  firm  enough  to  afford  a  footing  to  wayfarers  in 
the  woodlands  between  the  two  basins. 

At  present  the  steamers  plying  between  Georgetown  and  the  Orinoco  delta 
have  brought  the  whole  of  the  "  north-western  district  "  into  easy  relations  with 
the  rest  of  the  colony.  The  new  domain  thus  opened  up  has  been  occupied  at 
three  diflFerent  points  by  traders  and  others  engaged  especially  in  the  lumber 
business.  One,  lying  nearest  to  the  plantati  ns  on  the  banks  of  the  Pomerun, 
stands  at  the  junction  of  the  waters  formed  by  the  Baramanni  lagoon  with  the 
Waini  river ;  another  at  ihe  confluence  of  the  Morawhanna,  which  connects  the 
Barima  with  the  Waini ;  the  third  at  the  mouth  of  the  Barima  in  the  Orinoco 
estuary.  The  natural  and  administrative  centre  of  the  whole  district  is  the 
Morawhanna  station,  where  the  British  Government  has  erected  a  group  of  public 
buildings,  including  a  courthouse,  police  barracks,  and  hospital. 

This  may  be  taken  as  a  proof  of  the  determination  of  the  Foreign  Office 
absolutely  to  ignore  the  pretensions  of  Venezuela  to  the  north-western  district, 
which  has  a  superficial  area  of  9,400  square  miles.     In  colonial  times  the  nearest 


UUITISH  GUIANA. 


49 


Spaiiinh  slations  were  those  on  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  boyond  the  frontiers 
proponed  by  Great  IJritain,  and  since  then  no  part  of  the  territory  has  ever  been 
occupied  by  tlie  Venezuelans.  The  negotiations  that  had  been  opened  in  1894 
with  a  view  to  the  settlement  of  these  frontier  questions  fell  through  because  the 
Veno^••elan  Government  insisted  on  including  their  groundless  claims  to  tlie 
nort'i-w(  ,(ern  district,  claims  that  the  British  Government  "considered  to  be 
so  unfounded  in  fact,  and  so  unfair  to  the  colony  of  British  Guiana,  as  not  to  bo 
proper  subject  for  arbitration  "  (Lord  Rosebery). 

The  lower  alluvial  parts  of  the  district  comprise  some  of  the  richest  soil  in. 

Fiff.    U.^NoErH-WKSTBBN   DlSTBIOT,    BRITISH   GuiANA,. 
6«ale  1 :  8,000,000. 


WwteF  Graenwicli 59* 


DrpUu, 


otoie 

Vatt. 


16  to  8S 
Feet. 


32  to  160 
Feet. 


160  Feet 
and  upwards. 


,60  Mile*. 


the  world.  Some  of  the  tracts  that  have  recently  been  drained  "now  yield 
crops  of  tropical  produce  in  simply  an^azing  abundance.  As  an  illustration  of  this 
I  may  mention  that  the  garden  which  hardly  two  and  a-half  years  ago  I  cleared  and 
drained  for  myself  now  already  has  in  it  avenues  of  trees  (casuarina)  over  40 
feet  high  which  I  then  planted.  On  the  other  hand,  the  higher  part  of  the  new 
district  is  being  fast  overrun  by  very  successful  gold-diggers."  * 


ThK    EsSEQUIBO    E.\SIN QUATATA.       . 

Despite  its  vast  extent  and  the  great  development  of  its  ramifying  waters,  the 
Essequibo  river  basin  has  hitherto  received  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  Guiana 

*  Im  Thum,  Proceedings  of  the  Soyal  Oeographical  Society,  October,  1892. 


60 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


popultttioiis,  Tior  has  any  centre  of  European  enterprise  Veen  yet  established  within 
its  limits.  The  region  about  its  headwaters  is  occupied  by  the  Taruma  Indians, 
who  are  rarely  visited  by  travellers,  and  whose  relations  with  the  colony  are  con- 
ducted through  the  agency  of  a  few  traders  thinly  scattered  over  a  wide  space. 

Groups  of  hamlets  follow  at  great  distances  along  the  course  of  the  rivers, 
especially  about  the  portages,  where  the  cataracts  have  to  be  turned  by  the  boat- 
men. The  river  tratfic  carried  on  by  their  means  is  almost  entirely  limited  to  the 
section  of  the  Essequibo  below  the  confluence  of  the  Rupununi,  although  this 
affluont  follows  the  natural  route  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Amazons  basin 
through  the  Pirara  depression.  But  everywhere  the  riverside  stations  are  wide 
apart,  and  till  recently  they  were  exclusively  inhabited  by  Indians  and  half-breeds, 
with  a  few  black  or  Portuguese  dealers  from  the  distant  coast  towns.  Neverthe- 
less, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  sooner  or  later  the  broad  highway  leading  from 
the  Atlantic  to  Amazonia  will  acquire  great  commercial  importance. 

Meanwhile,  the  chief  group  of  huts  near  the  Pirara  depression  is  the  obscure 
village  of  Qnntata,  trysting-ground  of  the  Wapisiana,  Macusi,  and  "Wayewe 
Indians,  who  here  carry  on  a  barter  trade  in  hammocks,  sarbacanes,  and  other 
objects  of  native  industry,  taking  in  exchange  the  cutlery,  beads,  dogs,  and 
manioc  rasps  supplied  by  the  European  dealers.  The  natives  have  been  visited 
both  by  Protestant  missionaries  from  Deraerara  and  by  Catholic  Fathers  from 
^lanaos,  and  near  Quatata  are  seen  the  remains  of  the  little  Fort  New  Guinea, 
erected  by  the  English  to  uphold  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  this  important 
strategical  position.  The  district  is  yearly  visited  by  half-caste  Brazilian  immi- 
grants engaged  in  stock-breeding. 

Bartica. — Zeelandia. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  navigable  Mazaruni  and  Cuyuni  affluents  above  the 
estuary  stands  the  little  town  of  Burtica  Grove,  or  simply  Bartica,  at  one  time  a 
flourisl.i ng  mission  station,  till  lately  reduced  to  a  few  wooden  huts  embowered 
in  the  overhanging  riverside  vegetation,  a  recently  restored  church,  some  small 
residences,  and  a  few  timber-sheds.  The  picturesque  village,  with  i\s  avenues  of 
tall  mango-trees  and  tangle  of  flowery  shrubs  overtopped  by  groups  of  graceful 
palms,  was  till  recently  occupied  chiefly  by  the  so  called  "river -men,"  idle  negroes 
and  half-breeds,  who  make  a  precarious  living  on  the  Government  timber-grants, 
or  as  boat-hands  to  help  travellers  in  surmounting  the  numerous  cataracts  of  the 
Essequibo  affluents. 

Since  1887  the  prosperity  of  Bartica  has  revived,  thanks  mainly  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  gold-mining  industry  in  the  western  districts.  The  place  is  now 
rapidly  increasing,  and  tends  to  become  the  chief  trading  centre  of  the  colony. 
Chinese  and  Portuguese  traders  have  already  opened  numerous  stores  for  the 
supply  of  the  mining  populations,  and  the  future  of  Bartica  seems  to  be  assured 
by  its  advantageous  position  at  the  convorgii;g  point  of  a  network  of  navigable 
waters  leading  in  one  direction  up  the  Essequibo  to  the  Amazons  and  Brazil,  in 
another  by  the  Cuyuni  towards  the  Orinoco  and  Venezuela. 


■li>,|!ii|iji^jiyiff^i^;|iy.yjiuM<t|<^^^^ 


''.'!.'»j!^','.'^lll»ff"t!l■"|""''W'»^_■w^l^l^l|]^^^^^||  'j"  >","iiiUL  ■"■H'lru.^n^'iMi'iwifiWf'Wn 


BRITISH  GUIANA, 


51 


A  few  miles  to  the  west  an  eminence  rising  above  the  left  bank  of  the  Maza- 
runi-Cuyuni,  a  short  distance  above  the  confluence,  is  crowned  by  the  extensive 
buildings  of  the  penal  settlement,  established  in  1843,  and  containing  about  300 
convicts.  To  prevent  the  prestige  of  the  ruling  race  from  being  lowered,  no 
English  criminals  are  confined  in  this  establishment,  which  is  surrounded  by  a 
magnificent  park,  planted  with  fine  trees  of  rare  species.  The  man^ion  of  the 
governor,  the  houses  of  the  officials  and  turnkeys  are  all  shaded  in  an  exuberant 
vegetation  of  tropical  growth. 

The  convicts  are  mostly  employed  in  working  the  neighbouring  quarries,  which 
supply  Georgetown  with  the  granite  required  for  its  quays  and  buildings.  Some 
of  the  well-conducted  enjoy  a  moderate  share  of  freedom,  being  allowed  to  seek 
employment  in  the  district  as  carpenters,  gardeners,  or  woodmen.  A  steamer  plies 
regularly  between  the  settlement  and  Georgetown,  Bartica  being  the  chief  station 
on  the  route. 

Below  the  Mazaruni  confluence  the  Essequibo  develops  its  broad  estuary,  at 
first  in  an  open  expanse  some  miles  wide,  and  lower  down  in  numerous  channels 
winding  between  an  archipelago  of  islands,  nearly  all  inhabited.  One  of  these, 
three  milos  from  the  sea,  contains  the  still-imposing  ruins  of  Fort  Zeelandia,  which 
was  erected  by  the  Dutch  in  1743  as  the  commercial  and  administrative  centre 
of  their  colony.  Each  island  is  rounded  off  in  a  superb  dome  of  rich  vegetation, 
while  the  view  is  everywhere  bound  by  a  circle  of  arborescent  growths.  The 
larger  members  of  the  archipelago  are  occupied  by  plantations  surrounded  by  large 
timber,  and  cultivated  grounds  stretch  along  the  estuary  north-westwards  in  the 
direction  of  the  Poraerun,  north-eastwards  towards  Georgetown,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Demerara. 

Georgetown. — New  Amsterdam. 

The  old  Dutch  town  of  Stabrock,  which  in  1774  supplanted  Zeelandia  as  the 
residence  of  the  governor,  has  acquired  considerable  importance  since  it  has  become 
the  capital  of  British  Guiana  under  the  name  of  Georgetown.  It  is  already  the 
largest  centre  of  population  on  the  stretch  of  seaboard  between  the  Orinoco 
and  Amazons  estuaries,  and  here  are  concentrated  twice  as  many  inhabitants  as  are 
found  in  the  whole  of  French  Guiana:  Yet,  seen  from  the  sea,  Georgetown  almost 
escapes  observation,  little  being  visible  except  a  dense  mass  of  leafy  vegetation 
overtopped  by  clumps  of  cocoanufc  palms  and  oreodoxas.  But  a  nearer  view  reveals 
the  shipping  which  crowds  the  broad  Demerara  estuary,  with  a  background  of 
elegant  white  houses  skirting  the  right  bank  of  the  river, 

Georgetown,  which  is  inhabited  in  large  majority  by  blacks  and  people  of 
colour,  extends  considerably  over  a  mile  along  the  estuary  between  Fort  William 
at  the  entrance  and  the  group  of  villas  dotted  over  the  plains.  Even  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares  and  of  the  quays  where  are  stored  nearly  all 
the  products  of  the  Guianas,  the  houses  with  their  verandahs  of  flowering 
creepers  are  surrounded  by  shady  gardens,  and  each  dwelling  has  its  cistern  for 
watering  the  trees  and  flower-beds. 


'r'm, 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Numerous  urtesiun  wells,  sunk  at  distances  of  300  or  400  yards  yield  u  supjily 
of  water  slightly  charged  with  minerals.  Till  recently  the  suhurb  of  Ilopduwn 
was  almost  exclusively  inhabited  by  Chinese,  and  a  large  agricultural  population 
is  also  distributed  over  the  rich  and  carefully  cultivated  plantations  which  extend 
for  great  distances  round  about  the  capital,  both  on  ihe  seaboard  and  along  the 
river  banks.  The  railway  running  eastwards  to  Mahuica,  ou  the  river  of  like 
name,  has  developed  a  large  local  traffic  in  goods  and  passengers.  This  line,  23 
miles  long,  dates  from  the  year  1850,  being  the  first  opened  in  South  America ; 
it  is  to  be  continued  towards  Berbice,  but  is  meantime  the  only  railway  in  British 

Fig.  15.— Gboboetown. 

Scale  1  :  87,000. 


::JJ1 


Bnnks  expnaed 
at  low  nater. 


Depths, 


Otoie 

Feet. 


tfl  Feet 
and  upwards. 

i  2  Miles. 


Guiana.     At  Mahaica  has  been  founded  a  lazaretto,  with  accommodation  for  about 
200  victims  of  leprosy  drawn  from  every  part  of  the  colony. 

jyi'jT  Anpitonlam,  called  also  Berbice,  from  the  river  on  the  right  bank  of  which 
it  stands,  occupies  in  the  eastern  district  a  position  analogous  to  that  of  George- 
town farther  west.  As  indicated  by  its  name,  this  place  is  also  of  Dutch  origin, 
as  might  almost  be  inferred  from  the  numerous  canals  flowing  between  its 
different  quarters.  Although  the  first  buildings  date  from  the  year  179G,  sub- 
sequent changes  have  failed  to  efface  the  primitive  aspect  of  the  town,  with  its 
silent  canals,  its  shady  squares,  and  quaint  houses  embowered  in  verdure. 


1 1!' 


f^;ryi<'&fV*W>'|y>'^fyj;jl!f 'I'fM.^fM'i^^  w«mvimmii,mjilf)^^f,,jf_j<>_;'.r-,w-»\<% 


BRITISU  GUIANA. 


58 


Material  Condition  of  British  Giiana. 

As  in  other  regions  exploited  by  slave  labour,  field  operations,  performed  by 
men  like  machines,  controlled  by  overseers  armed  with  the  lash  or  the  stick,  were 
iucomputiblc  with  the  cultivation  of  any  great  variety  of  crops  in  British  Guiana. 
Simple  processes  carried  out  in  a  mechanical  way  were  alone  possible  ;  hence  the 
products  of  the  sugar-cane — rum,  "  foots,"  molasses — besides  cotton  and  coffee, 
were  the  only  articles  of  export  during  the  plantation  days.  Even  still,  despite 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  crude  old  agricultural  systems  linger  on,  and  land 
tenure  has  undergone  no  change,  large  domains  still  everywhere  prevailing.  Only 
the  gangs  of  black  slaves  are  now  replaced  by  contract  labour,  though  the  Hindoo 
coolies  have  to  conform  to  the  same  old  rigid  methods  of  routine  work.  A 
single  estate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Demerara  comprises  as  muny  as  d,GOO  acres, 
and  yields  5,500  tons  of  sugar,  employing  altogether  3,730  coolies  and  f reodmen. 

The  administration,  however,  has.  at  last  discovered  that  it  would  be  unwise  to 
dispose  of  the  remaining  unallotted  lands  in  great  domains.  With  a  view  to 
attracting  settlers,  efforts  are  being  raadi^  to  create  a  numerous  class  of  small  free- 
holders by  limiting  to  50  acres  the  lots  granted  to  new  arrivals. 

The  Sugar  Industry. 

As  in  the  slave  days,  sugar  continues  to  be  the  staple  crop.  About  half  of  all 
the  cultivated  land  is  under  cane,  and  this  single  item  represents  on  an  average 
over  nine-tenths  of  all  the  colonial  exjiorts.  Thanks  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
improved  processes  of  production,  and  the  excellent  quality  of  the  sugar,  the 
Demerara  planters  have  hitherto  been  able  to  hold  their  own  against  the  tierce 
competition  of  the  European  beet-sugar  growers.  But  to  maintain  their  ground 
they  shrink  from  no  necessary  outlay.  While  utilising  the  upheaved  strip  of 
coastlands,  they  have  encroached  on  the  sea  itself,  by  the  construction  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly costly  system  of  dykes,  which  at  the  same  time  serve  as  roads. 

The  land  has  been  cut  up  by  a  network  of  canals  and  trenches,  by  which  the 
surface  is  drained,  while  facilities  are  afforded  lor  the  transport  of  the  cane.  The 
soil  is  renovated  by  a  liberal  employment  of  chemical  manures,  and  the  mills  have 
been  provided  with  the  most  improved  machinery  and  general  plant  for  crystal- 
lising the  sap  to  the  best  advantage.  '  The  cane,  containing  on  an  average  17  per 
cent,  of  sugar,  is  thus  made  to  yield  as  much  as  16  per  cent.,  whereas  by  the  old 
processes  of  crushing  scarcely  one-half  could  be  extracted.  The  best  "  Deme- 
rara "  commands  on  the  English  markets  prices  far  higher  than  the  product  of  all 
other  sugar-canes.  It  is  also  exported  to  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and  other 
British  colonies,  and,  despite  the  heavy  protective  tariffs,  it  competes  successfully 
with  the  sugars  of  Louisiana  and  of  Cuba  in  the  United  States  markets.  The 
Demerara  rum,  which  is  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  Jamaica,  is  exported  chiefly  to 
Great  Britain ;  while  the  Georgetown  molasses  are  highly  appreciated  in  the  French 
Antilles.  •    '  '        .   •  ' 

The  Berbice  coffee  plantations,  which  formerly  yielded  a  choice  variety  of  the 
berry,  have  now  been  almost  everywhere  replaced  by  cane ;  in  fact,  the  shrub  is 
88 


# 


54 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


scurccly  nnywherc  vnot  except  in  gardens  and  in  the  Hmall  negro  holdings.  Next 
to  sugar  the  chief  prwluct  of  IJritish  Quiana  at  present  is  lumber,  which  is  cut  by 
the  Purtamona  and  Calina  tribes  on  the  banks  of  the  Essequibo  above  Bartica  and 
in  other  fluvial  valleys  south  of  the  plantations.  These  Indians  are  closely  related 
to  the  Gulibi  who  dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Muroni  about  the  Franco-Dutch 
frontiers. 

In  late  year?  the  trade  in  fruits,  cucounuts,  and  bananas  has  acquired  some 
importance,  and,  despite  the  distance,  might  compete  with  the  fruit  trade  that 
has  sprung  up  between  Central  America  and  the  United  States.  The  Guiana 
fruits,  especially  the  bananas,  have  a  delicate  flavour  fully  equal  to  those  of  the 
West  Indies,  Costa  Rica,  and  Guatemala. 

TuADE — Apministkation. 

Altogether  British  Guiana  has  a  mean  annual  export  trade  of  about  £8,000,000 
in  sugar  and  other  products  of  cane,  timber,  cabinet  woods,  and  fruits,  to  which 
in  late  years  have  been  added  gold  dust  and  small  diamonds  collected  on  the  banks 
of  the  Barima  and  Cuyuni  rivers  and  in  the  alluvia  of  the  coast  streams  in  the 
north-western  district.  "  In  1884  the  gold  exported  was  only  250  ounces  from 
the  whole  colony,  and  this  had  increased  in  steady  and  natural  ratio  in  1891  to 
101,297  ounces.  From  the  Morawhanna  river,  from  which  the  first  gold — 129 
ounces — was  obtained  only  in  November,  1889,  2,836  ounces  were  obtained  in 
March,  1892.  It  should  be  added  that  though  the  metal  as  yet  obtained  has  been 
got  by  means  of  such  primitive  instruments  as  the  battel,  the  tom,  and  the  sluice 
from  the  alluvial  mud,  there  are  already  signs  that  the  more  serious  enterprise  of 
quartz-crushing  will  soon  be  entered  on."  * 

British  Guiana  imports  provisions,  machinery  of  all  kinds,  textile  fabrics,  and 
other  manufactured  wares  chiefly  from  England,  and  to  some  extent  from  the 
United  States.  Georgetown  is  now  connected  by  regular  lines  of  steamers  with 
Great  Britain,  the  West  Indies,  and  Canada. 

Till  the  year  1831  Demerara  and  Berbice  constituted  two  distinct  colonial 
governments,  as  they  had  under  the  Dutch  rule.  Most  of  the  laws  and  local 
regulation  J  had  been  maintained,  and  numerous  traces  still  survive  of  this  system. 
The  polit'cal  power  is  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  Queen.  He  is  assisted  in  his  administration  by  a  "  Court  of 
Policy  "  composed  of  the  five  chief  colonial  officers,  and  of  five  members  chosen  by 
the  Court  and  the  two  presented  by  the  notables,  who  form  electoral  bodies  num- 
bering altogether  2,046  in  1893. 

To  the  Governor  and  Court  of  Policy  are  also  entrusted  the  legislative  and 
executive  functions.  But  in  determining  the  rate  of  ts.-ses  the  Governor  has  to 
consult  six  financial  representatives,  who  form,  with  the  osher  Government  officials, 
a  "  Combined  Court."  The  colony  is  still  administered  under  the  Dutch  civil  law, 
modified  by  various  decrees  and  ordinances  ;  but  the  '•riminal  law  has  been  con- 
formed to  that  of  England,  though  the  jury  system  has  not  yet  been  adopted. 

•  Im  Thum,  Froe.  R.  Geo.  Soe.,  October,  1892. 


:^fi^'Mfr^<:^|%/l'i|;*)^>.?«y^g»V.IJ;;^ 


imrTiHii  our  ANA.  j^ 

Tho  80-cullod  '•Rhenish  "  scale  of  weights  and  measures  still  prevails  on  the  banks 
of  tho  Demerara,  although  abolished  in  Holland  itself. 

The  police  comprises  a  few  hundred  men,  while  the  military  garrison  num- 
bers about  300  soldiers,  drawn  from  the  West  Indian  black  regiments.  The 
Church  of  England,  which  is  tho  national  church,  has  a  hierarchy  of  one  bishop, 
with  a  number  of  rectors  and  curates  supported  by  tho  llritish  Oovernmenti 
which  also  subsidises  the  Presbyterian  and  Catholic  Churches.  In  1801  about 
28,000  children,  or  one-ninth  of  the  whole  population,  were  receiving  regular 
instruction  in  the  colonial  schools.  The  annual  budget  usually  balances  itself, 
while  the  public  debt  amounted  in  1890  to  £200,000. 

The  colony  is  divided  into  the  four  administrative  districta  or  counties  of  the 
North-West,  Easequibo,  Demerara,  and  Berbice. 


"1  . 


I  •: 


1^ 


CHArTER  III. 


DUTCH  OUIANA. 


HE  Dutch,  who  were  the  first  settlers  in  Britioh  Giiiuim,  laid  the 
fuundatioiiH  of  the  prosperity  of  thut  colony  to  the  benefit  of  their 
English  rivals.  Whut  they  huve  preserved  of  their  old  possoH- 
sions  is  of  fur  loss  vnluo  than  what  they  have  lost.  Surinam,  as 
they  call  their  present  colony  of  Quiana,  has  scarcely  one-sixth  of 
the  population  grouped  round  Demenira,  in  the  British  possi'ssions,  while  its 
trade  hardly  amounts  to  onc-Hfth  of  the  commercial  transactions  curried  on  by  the 
neighbouring  colony. 

The  economic  crisis  following  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  1803  involved 
numerous  plantations  in  utter  ruin,  and  vast  stretches  of  cultivated  land  reverted 
to  the  solitude  of  the  savannas  and  woodlands.  The  population  even  decreased 
by  emigration,  and  several  years  of  decadence  elapsed  before  the  first  symptoms 
of  a  slow  revival  became  manifest.  At  present  the  population  is  on  the  increase, 
though  this  is  due  to  the  arrival  of  a  few  Indian  coolies.  The  planters  are 
gradually  resuming  possession  of  the  land,  but  are  for  the  most  part  devoting 
their  attention  to  economic  plants  different  from  those  cultivated  by  their 
predecessors. 

As  in  British  Guiana,  the  inhabited  and  cultivated  zone  forms  but  a  small 
part  of  the  whole  territory.  It  comprises  the  coastlands  between  the  outer  belt  of 
bush  and  mangrove  swamps  ana  the  inland  savannas.  But  even  in  this 
cultivated  zone  there  are  numerous  gaps  occupied  by  scrubby  and  marshy  tracts. 

NiCKEUIE — GrOXINGEN. 

Nickene,  the  westernmost  district,  lying  east  of  the  Corentyne  and  its  estuary, 
is  but  thinly  settled,  and  the  population  is  still  very  slight.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  some  planters  and  traders  established  a  colony  at  the 
headland  close  to  the  confluence  of  the  Corentyne  with  the  River  Nickerie  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  estuary.  The  site  seemed  favourable,  and  the  settlement 
increased  rapidly.  But  in  less  than  two  generations  the  very  ground  on  which  the 
quays  and  buildings  had  been   erected  was  swept  away  by   the  Atlantic  waves 


y>,:i>.'«!ffiyi  'j-r- 


-i-.-' -.»1>-^iil|,i,IIW     ip III  1^1* 


I  "HIM"      IIH^, 


DUTCU  GUIANA. 


fi7 


continuully  oncronching  on  the  luiid.  The  inhabitants,  dishourtunod  and  coni- 
jH'licd  to  rotrout  conatuntly  towards  the  interior,  at  lust  disporsod,  and  nothing 
rcmuined  except  a  little  group  of  cottages  at  the  entrance  of  the  estuary. 

According  lo  I'ulgravo,  the  rapid  advance  of  the  sea  at  this  point  is  duo  to  a 
subsidence  of  the  laud,  and  not,  as  the  rosidents  supposed,  to  a  change  in  the 
direction  of  the  winds  and  currents,  giving  more  force  to  the  breakers.  This 
observer  sfjeuks  of  "  a  broud,  triangular  space  of  shallow  water,  lushed  into  seeth- 
ing waves  1)V  wind  and  current,  whore,  a  few  feet  under  the  surface,  lies  what 
was  onco  tlie  busy  area  of  populous  streets.  Meanwhile  the  breakers,  not  content 
with  the  mischief  already  done,  continue  ceaselessly  tearing  away  the  adjoining 
land  bit  by  bit.  lliglit  in  front  a  largo  house,  left  an  empty  shell,  without  doors 
or  window-frames,  by  its  fugitive  inhabitants,  is  on  the  point  of  sinking  and 
disappearing  among  the  waters  that,  unopposed,  wash  to  and  fro  through  the 
ground  floor.  Close  by  the  victorious  sea  has  invaded  the  gardens  of  the  neigh- 
bouring dwellidgs,  and  will  evidently  soon  take  possession  of  the  buildings  thern- 
selv(  ■<.  Farther  on  a  few  isolated  fragments  of  what  was  once  a  carefully 
constructed  sea-dam  rise  like  black  specks  among  the  yeasty  waters,  and  the 
new  earth- wall  built  to  protect  what  yet  remains  of  Nickerio  has  a  dospondinp, 
makeshift  look,  as  if  uwuro  that  it  will  not  have  long  to  wait  for  its  turn  of 
demolition."  * 

Oroiiinijcii,  another  colony  of  which  its  promoters  had  great  expectations,  hos 
proved  even  a  greater  failure  than  Nickerie.  It  was  founded  in  1843  near  the 
Suraraacca  estuary,  and  peopled  with  Frisians  carefully  chosen  for  the  purpose 
of  introducing  "  white  labour  "  into  these  equatorial  regions.  But  the  enter- 
prise met  the  fate  that  invariably  overtakes  all  such  experiments.  Of  the  384 
settlers  about  one  half  were  dead  within  six  months,  and  most  of  the  survivors 
had  to  remove  to  the  neighbouring  plantations.  Several  have  prospered  as  artisans 
and  gardeners  in  Paramaribo,  but  Groningen  itself  has  all  but  disappeared.  It 
stood  about  midway  between  Paramaribo  and  Batavia,  which  lies  a  few  miles  to 
the  south-west  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Coppename  estuary. 

Here  is  a  lazaretto,  where  the  patients  are  maintained  by  their  friends  and 
families.  But  the  village  lies  too  near  the  settled  districts,  and  another  leper- 
house  is  to  be  established  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Upper  Surinam  in  the  unin- 
habited district  of  Grand  Chat''l!on.  Nowhere  are  the  ravages  of  this  loath- 
some malady  more  destructive  than  in  Dutch  Guiana,  especially  among  the 
blacks  and  people  of  colour.     In  1893  nearly  a  thousand  were  said  to  be  tainted. 


"!l 


m 


Paramaribo. 

Unlike  Ge)rgotown  and  New  Amsterdam,  Paramaribo,  capital  of  Dutch 
Guiana,  does  not  lie  on  the  sea  coast.  In  this  region  the  form  and  character  oi 
the  seaboard  has  required  the  towns  and  settlements  of  the  plantations  to  be 
established  in  the  relatively  dry  zone,  which  is  traversed  by  the  coast  streams 
flowing  parallel  with  the  strip  of  swumpy  mangrove-covered  foreshore.     Para- 

•  Duleh  Ouiann,  p.  17. 


86 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  I'l-ATA. 


ijaf"' 


innribn  is  a  Fn-iicli  foundiitioii  dating  from  tho  year  1040,  w'l  <  'oine  rofugco« 
from  Ciiyonno  built  u  littl«  fortalico  on  tlio  spot  wlioro  now  Mtand  >  i  '.'t  jtt'lii  kUk, 
on  tl>e  left  Imnk  of  tliii  Surinam  juHt  aJkJVo  its  estuary.  IVn  y^ar»  later  L'  nl 
Willoughby  of  I'lirhuin  raisud  the  place  to  tho  dignity  of  a  capital,  and  whoii  it 
NOon  aftor  panHcd  into  tho  hands  of  the  Dutch,  it  beoumo  the  admiuiHtrutivo  oeutre 
of  their  Surinam  possossionH. 

Puramaribo,  which  is  an  Indian  uamo  and  not  a  corruption  of  Tarham,  stands 
on  a  terrace  of  shingle,  coral,  and  shells  at  tho  point  whore  tho  rivor  describes  a 


'ii    I: 


Fig.  10.— Pabamaribo  anh  Subinax  Estuabt. 
B«nU  1  i  880,000. 


Bandi  exposed 
at  low  water. 


Depths. 


otoie 

Feet. 


16  Feet 
nnd  upwards. 


.  6  Milei. 


curve  round  to  the  east  before  its  junction  with  tho  Coramewijne  at  the  head  of 
the  estuary.  It  has  the  aspect  of  a  tropical  Amsterdam,  and,  despite  the  difference 
of  materials,  its  wooden  houses  painted  grey  recall  the  more  substantial  brick 
structures  of  the  Dutch  city.  Some  Government  buildings,  such  as  the  Govern- 
ment palace,  the  synagogue,  and  a  few  churches  impart  an  air  of  importance  to 
this  somewhat  old-fashioned  town.  Being  well  kept  it  is  by  no  means  an 
unhealthy  place,  although  the  atmosphere,  unrefreshed  by  the  sea  breezes,  some- 
what resembles  that  of  a  hothouse  in  Kew  Gardens. 


,'v;-i;''yfs)itfi95r.fsrtt,'3i 


'  Jj>.J,|ivT-ip|^i  iyiyiHBf|i»ii|.  Wfi i»t|y  >i,^niwij,uii|  i„y  iii'j.iyi uHi > ' 1 1       I  I 


DiJTrri  ourANA. 


RO 


Puranmribo  Ih  nonn  to  bo  coniioctfd  by  ruil  witb  tlio  forliUi  rivorHidcdiHtriiitM  in 
tht)  Sarumacca  vull«y.  'I'bo  approucthim  from  th«»  Huuuro  (loiniiuiiidctl  hy  Fort  Nieiiw 
Amtfcniiim,  which  occupies  u  ntratogicul  position  of  vital  iinportaiico  at  the  ('oniini>. 
wijni!  conHut'iico  in  full  view  of  tho  »>.sluury. 

Kasikkn   Sktii.km knts. 

Kast  of  Paramaribo  the  banks  of  tho  Commowijno  and  Cotlioa  rivers  wen- 
lined  with  an  uninten^upted  8ucco8»i(m  of  ganhtnH  and  plantutiouR,  wliich  uro  \ow 
partly  abandoned,  while  mo8t  of  them  have  changed  bandfl.  Hluck  descendants  of 
tho  old  slaves  have  become  the  owners  of  many  a  domain  which  ut  one  time 
depended  on  some  great  Dutch  landed  estate.  Tho  villago  of  Sommvlndi/k,  com- 
manded by  a  pentagonal  fort  at  tho  junction  of  tlio  two  stronms,  rccallH  tiic  name 
of  the  famous  Dutch  governor,  who  was  himself  owner  of  one-third  of  all  the 
colonial  plantations. 

Home  50  milen  above  Puramaribo  on  the  Surinam  river,  are  soon  the  ruins  of 
a  synagogue  and  of  a  group  of  cottages  at  a  place  called  Joedvn  Sfuaiir,  "Savanna 
of  the  Jews,"  which  preserves  the  memory  of  tho  Portuguese  and  liOf^horn  Jews, 
who,  after  their  expulsion  from  Pernambuco,  took  refuge  in  Guiana  and  oHtablislicd 
themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Surinam  in  l(i4l.  Tho  wiiite  population  is  still 
largely  composed  of  Israelites,  who  control  the  money  market  of  Paramaribo,  and 
supply  the  colony  with  most  of  its  professional  men — doctors,  lawyers,  and  judjjes. 
During  the  eighteenth  century  these  Somites  had  their  own  administration  of 
justice,  at  lea)st  for  all  cases  heard  ih  tho  lower  courts.  During  their  religious 
feasts  also  they, enjoyed  the  privilege  of  immunity  from  arrest  or  legal  prosecution 
of  any  kind. 

The  left  bank  of  the  Maroni  on  the  French  frontier  is  very  thinly  peopled. 
Here  the  scattered  groups  of  cabins  nearly  all  belong  either  to  the  Galibi  Indians 
or  to  the  descendants  of  the  Maroons,  now  universally  known  as  Bush  Negroes.  The 
western  streams  are  inhabited  by  u  few  communities  of  Bovianders,  that  is,  half- 
breeds  sprung  from  Dutch  fathers  and  Indian  mothers. 

Natural  Resources. 

During  the  slave  period,  sugar  was  the  chief  crop  in  Surinam,  as  in  British 
Guiana.  But  the  planters,  unable  to  resist  tho  crisis  following  on  emancipation, 
abandoned  most  of  their  large  estates  ;  hence  the  colony  even  now  possesses  only 
a  small  number  of  sugar  mills  belonging  to  wealthy  capitalists,  who  have  pro- 
vided them  with  plant  and  machinery  as  completo  as  those  of  the  Georgetown 
factories.  A  single  proprietor  employs  as  many  as  1,580  hands,  negroes,  Hindus, 
Javanese,  and  Chinese. 

The  cultivation  of  the  coffee  shrub,  which  had  formerly  acquired  great  iii.por- 
tance,  producing  about  6,000  tons  for  the  annual  export  trade,  was  neglected  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  colony  had  to  import  tho  coffee  required  for  its  own 
consumption.  This  industry,  however,  has  been  revived  with  fair  prospects 
of  permanent  success  since  the  year  1883,  when  some  speculators  introduced  the 


/ 


vrt:>- 


:|: 


ii: 


mi: 


Wm 


60 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


Liberian  plant,  which  thrives  admirably  in  the  Surinam  territorj',  better  even 
than  in  Java  itself. 

In  the  north-western  districts  some  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  bnhitn,  a 
plant  which  has  been  called  the  gutta-percha  of  Guiana.  Cotton  is  no  longer 
grown,  being  entirely  supplanted  by  cacao,  the  staple  product,  the  cultivation  of 
which  requires  little  care.  Although  the  cacao  tree  produces  nothing  for  eight 
or  ten  years,  after  that  it  yields  a  certain  and  regular  harvest. 

Asa  rule,  the  large  plantations,  whose  products  f(  ed  the  export  trade,  enrich 
the  country  less  than  do  the  smull  holdings,  in  which  the  negroes  and  peasantry 
of  various  races  rai?e  provisions,  vegetables,  fruits,  and  especially  bananas.  An 
experiment  in  communism  has  been  carried  out  on  the  Oiivericaclit  estate,  which  is 

Fig.    17.  — CXTLTIVATED   ZoNB,    DlTTCH   GulANA. 
Scale  1 :  4,000,000. 


57' 

.  West  of. Greenwich^ 

m\ 

f«Kiiiib] 

H<) 

CulttTated 
Lan'ls. 

Lands  tmnted 
to  Gold  Slinera. 

ml 

Savanoas 

\m 

Virgin 

FureaU. 

Sand  and 
BbeU  Mounde. 

jointly  held  by  a  colony  of  300  negroes,  engaged  in  husbandry  and  the  lumber 
business. 

In  Dutch,  as  in  British  Guiana,  ihe  gold  industry  has  lately  acquired 
some  importance.  Diggings  had  already  been  carrie'  on  for  some  20  years 
in  the  French  territory,  when  the  Dutch  Government  had  the  affluents  of  the 
Maroni  explored,  and  here  the  precious  metcil  was  discovered  by  the  prospector. 
Alma,  in  1874.  Since  that  time  further  discoveries  have  been  made  in  the  upper 
valleys  of  all  the  rivers,  and  especially  on  the  banks  of  the  Awa,  the  tributary  of 
the  Maroni  recently  awarded  to  Holland. 

The  yearly  yield  of  gold  has  steadily  increased  without  having  yet  reached 
the  sura  of  £IG0,000.     At  first  the  auriferous  sands  alone  were  washed;   but 


;'!j^' 


ijy.iR'^ ;»V3s/'v '.' tiW^'j !  Ti;?.;': 


DUTCH  GUIANA. 


61 


recentlj'^  the  miners  have  ascended  the  valleys,  and  have  beg  i  to  attack  the 
primitive  rocks  in  which  the  mineral  is  embedded.  Thus  the  mining  industry 
has  rapidly  become  one  of  the  important  branches  of  the  colonial  industry,  which 
had  hitherto  been  limited  to  a  small  number  of  products.  With  a  view  to  the 
development  of  the  gold-mines,  a  road  50  miles  long  has  been  opened  between  the 
Surinam  and  Maroni  rivers. 


!\ 


i 

i 


Administration. 

Despite  certain  empty  parliamentary  forms,  the  colonial  government  enjoys 
absolute  authority.  The  governor,  named  by  the  Crown,  is  also  president  of  the 
"  House  of  Assembly,"  comprising  13  members,  of  whom  he  nominates  four. 
The  nine  others,  elected  for  six  years,  owe  their  nomination  to  notables  enjoying 
an  income  of  at  least  40  florins. 

The  governor  proposes,  and,  if  .he  chooses,  disposes.  Should  his  advice  be 
rejected,  he  puts  in  writing  the  reasons  of  his  dissent  from  the  delegates,  where- 
upon the  majority  has  to  consider  the  matter  settled. 

Instruction  is  obligatory  for  all  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  twelve, 
and  in  1887  nearly  5,400  pupils  were  attending  the  48  public  schools.  The 
annual  budget  amounts  to  about  £100,000. 

Dutch  Guiana  is  divided  for  administrative  purposes  into  16  districts  with 
variable  circumscriptions.  But  all  decentralised  or  provincial  administration 
can  be  no  more  than  nominal  in  a  country  whose  capital  alone  contains  more 
than  half  of  the  entire  population,  excluding  the  Bush  Negroes,  who  are  not  com- 
prised in  the  census  returns. 

The  German  Government  is  said  to  entertain  the  idea  of  purchasing  Dutch 
Guiana  with  the  view  of  converting  it  into  a  penal  settlement  like  that  of  French 
Guiana. 


I 


u',j.ww»'imiw.iiaiw 


!T^«Pi 


CHAPTER  IV. 


FRENCH    GUIANA. 


Fkench  Guiana  Phoper, 

ERE  French  Guiana  increased  by  the  addition  of  the  contested  region 
extending  from  its  recognised  frontiers  southwards  to  the  Ara- 
guari  estuarj',  it  would  equal  the  British  territory  in  superficial 
area ;  but  in  respect  of  population,  trade,  industry,  political  and 
social  life,  no  comparison  is  possible  between  the  two  colonies. 
Of  all  the  French  possessions  beyond  the  seas  not  one  has  prospered  less  than 
Guiana.  Its  story  cannot  be  told  without  a  feeling  of  humiliation,  and  the 
example  of  this  territory  is  usually  chosen  to  show  the  incapacity  of  the  French  as 
a  colonising  people,  as  if  the  country  had  ever  been  a  colony  in  the  strict  sense  of 
the  word. 

No  really  spontaneous  stream  of  immigration  has  ever  been  directed  from 
France  to  Guiana  ever  since  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  when  some 
French  freebooters,  roving  the  seas,  established  a  few  ports  of  refuge  or 
refitting  stations  at  favourable  points  along  the  seaboard.  All  who,  during  the 
last  250  years,  have  landed  on  these  shores  between  the  Maroni  and  Oyapok  estu- 
aries, have  come  either  as  colonial  officials  and  soldiers,  or  else  in  gangs  of  slaves 
and  hired  labourers,  or  even  in  convoys  of  criminals  and  convicts  often  of  the 
worst  type. 

Essays  at  C<il()N1satio:;. 

The  country  has  never  been  quickened  by  the  spirit  of  free  colonisation. 
The  very  sites  of  the  settlements  were  often  selected  beforehand  by  administrators 
who  had  neve?  visited  the  colony.  Impracticable  decrees  Issiied  from  Paris  were 
carried  out  in  a  haphazard  way  ;  no  preparations  were  made  on  the  spot  for  the 
reception  of  the  new  arrivals,  who  consequently  perished  in  thousands,  camping 
without  food  or  shelter  on  the  banks  of  swampy  creeks.  Even  those  who  had 
been  more  favoured  by  fortune,  and  who  had  obtained  some  cover  and  supplies. 


.,%l 


FEENCH  nUIANA. 


68 


succumbed  at  last  to  their  hopeless  plight      "  Feeling  themselves  forsaken  by  the 
whole  world,  they  died  through  lack  of  will  to  live."  ♦ 

All  essays  at  compulsory  colonisation  having  failed,  it  seemed  natural  to 
make  choice  of  Guiana  as  a  proper  field  of  transportation  for  political  enemies 
and  as  u  convenient  settlement  for  offenders  against  the  common  law.      More 

Fig.  18.— rBNAL  Settlements  on  the  Maboni. 

Scale  1  :  469,000. 


•  ••    ..ft****     •..•*N»     ..X 

••.  0. . .  •  .•..*  .»...••:.•?.«:  .. .;  ?^ 
;,.»■.«•,..  0  Ot  •.;,■•.;.•  .•<>•». 

•.     0»«     .*•      •  0.  ••■.«'•     !   •      •.  6*     ,♦.      • 

r-*^9^^^^  •••*•.•  •••■•'••  -•;.•:  t-'/.*:"  ■'■'■  .••  ••  :'•  :-v.: 

\l/  pT  ,  ""^ ■ — " • -■ ' — .-: •    ■  ■       • 1 j^-AA 


West  or  GreeowicK 


53"50' 


Depths. 


Otoie 

Feet. 


16  Feet 
■nd  upwards. 


SmilM. 


than  once  notoriously  unhealthy  districts  were  assigned  to  the  exiles ;  tribunals 
which  shirked  the  responsibility  of  pronouncing  sentence  of  death  were  thus  none 
the  less  able  to  call  in  its  aid,  and  "  the  dry  guillotine "  became  the  popular 
name  of  Cayenne. 

•  JuleB  Ider,  NuUs  itatittiquti  tur  la  Ouyatu  franqai$t. 


'■4 


'':f.\yYi  ;''->''i^'-<:  ..\.-'^^\ 


64 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA, 


Such  a  by-word  easily  enough  explains  the  repugnance  felt  by  all  freemen  for 
.i.  region,  which  nevertheless  is  not  cursed  with  the  deadly  climate  attributed 
to  French  Guiuna  by  the  popular  fancy  since  so  many  wretched  victims  of  sen- 
tences of  transportation  began  to  be  cast  upon  its  shores. 

The  very  failure  of  the  frequent  attempts  to  colonise  the  country  had  the 
natural  consequence  of  causing  much  indecision  in  the  plans  of  the  central 
government,  as  well  as  in  the  activity  of  the  local  administrators.  Few  oiRcials 
enter  on  their  functions  in  Cayenne  without  forthwith  yearning  to  return  to  their 
native  land.  Being  merely  "  birds  of  passage,"  they  can  take  but  slight  interest 
in  a  region  which  they  hope  soon  to  quit.  But  without  attaching  themselves  to 
the  land,  they  may  perhaps  be  tempted  to  distinguish  their  administration  by  some 
ambitious  scheme  at  variance  with  those  of  their  predecessors  in  office,  and  calcu- 
lated to  enhance  their  reputation  in  high  places. 

Thus  the  affairs  of  the  colony  are  managed  in  a  shiftless  way  without  a  con- 
tinuous policy,  as  needs  must  be  in  a  territory  which  has  seen  thirty-four  governors 
replace  each  other  since  the  middle  of  the  century.  Hence  whatever  real  pro- 
gress is  made  in  French  Guiana,  either  in  an  increase  of  population  or  in  the 
development  of  its  natural  resources,  must  be  attributed,  not  to  the  administration, 
but  to  the  slow  ferment  working  spontaneously  in  the  mass  of  the  aboriginal 
elements  increased  by  a  few  immigrants  from  Martinique,  some  Bush  Negroes 
from  Surinam,  Portuguese  and  Brazilians  from  the  conterminous  regions.  But  on 
the  other  hand,  the  introductiua  of  Hindu  coolies  has  been  made  without  system 
or  humanity.  Of  8,372  engaged  in  the  prime  of  life,  4,5'i2,  more  than  half, 
perished  within  22  years  (IHijG-TS),  and  of  the  whole  number  only  67-)  were 
restored  to  their  native  homes. 


Co  X  VIC  r  Stations — Man  a  . 

The  basin  of  the  copious  River  Maroni,  which  separates  French  from  Dutch 
Guiana,  is  inhabited  in  its  upper  and  middle  course  only  by  a  few  scattered 
groups  of  Indians,  negroes,  and  gold-hunters.  The  first  white  settlements  are 
seen  some  38  miles  above  the  estuary,  and  even  these  are  nearly  all  occupied 
by  convicts.  Free  colonisation  in  this  district  is  represented  only  by  a  few 
plantations  which  were  granted  to  some  Algerian  Arabs  after  their  discharge  from 
detention. 

Saiut-Jodi),  which  lies  farthest  up  the  river,  has  the  advantage  of  railway  com. 
munication  with  the  cspital  of  the  penal  colony  ;  but  the  surrounding  district  is 
marshy  and  unhealthy.  Saint-Laurent,  a  little  lower  down,  also  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Maroni,  is  better  situated,  and  here  reside  the  directors  of  the  penal 
station.  The  cabins  of  the  Negro,  Arab,  and  Annamite  convicts  occupy  the  sunny 
glades  of  a  densely-wooded  park  not  far  from  the  cemetery. 

Opposite  Saint-Laurent  stands  the  village  of  Alhina,  the  only  settlement 
founded  by  the  Dutch  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Muroni.  In  Portal  Inland,  a  little 
higher  up,  is  situated  the  most  important  plantation  in  French  Guiano,  occupied 
mainly  with  the  production  of  roucou. 


.p5»?;- 


'  ■i^^|||^^^^;^'^:^^fpfr:'^^^ 


pff^T'Vf^.r^rirty  in'ui M«y^ ■'I'VliJ.V;' ', 


FRENCH  GUIANA. 


66 


The  Mana  river,  which  follows  the  Maroni  in  the  direction  of  the  east,  has  its 
little  comtuune  of  Mana,  named  from  the  river,  but  the  other  coast  streams,  such  as 
the  Organebo,  the  Iracubo,  and  the  Counaraano,  traverse  almost  uninhabited  dis- 
tricts. Mana  recalls  some  essays  at  colonisation,  which  were  carried  on  with 
great  vigour  and  perseverance.  The  enterprise  was  undertaken  by  a  religious 
sister,  Madame  Javouhey,  with,  a  rare  display  of  determination  almost  indepen- 
dently of  Government  control,  although  aided  by  the  ofRcials.  With  the  help  of 
the  sisters  of  the  community,  of  numerous  hired  labourers,  and  several  hundred 
slaves,  she  founded  various  establishments,  plantations,  asylums,  schools,  a  general 
hospital,  and  a  lazaretto.  The  present  village  of  Mana  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  salubrious  in  Guiana,  and  was  formerly  the  "  rice  granary  "  of  the  whole 
colony. 

SiNNAMARI — KOUROU. 

Sinnaman,  originally  a  Dutch  settlement,  founded  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river  of  like  name,  has  become  famous  as  a  place  of  banishment.  In  1797  and 
1798,  after  the  Royalist  conspiracy  of  Fructidor,  over  five  hundred  suspected  were 
transported  to  this  place ;  of  the  329  landed  by  the  Charente,  171,  more  than  half, 
rapidly  succumbed  to  their  hardships,  despair,  and  disease.  But  far  more  disas- 
trous had  been  the  attempt  made  to  colonise  the  district  in  1763,  when  about 
13,000  emigrants  from  Alsace,  Lorraine,  and  Saintonge  were  landed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Kourou,  some  thirty  miles  east  of  the  Sinnamari. 

Friince  had  just  ceded  Canada  to  England,  and  Choiseul,  who  with  his  cousin, 
de  Praslin,  at  that  time  ruled  the  Monarchy,  decided  to  replace  the  lost  territory 
by  calling  Guiana  "  Equatorial  France,"  and  despatching  thither  fleet  after  fleet 
of  colonists.  Even  some  players  were  included  for  the  purpose  of  amusing  the 
future  "  Guianese  "  in  their  hours  of  relaxation.  In  memory  of  Canada  they  were 
provided  with  skater,  but  the  provisions  were  forgotten,  and  no  arrangements 
were  r.'iade  for  landing  and  housing  the  settlers,  while  the  Clievalier  de  Turgot, 
who  had  been  appoint«d  leader  of  the  expedition,  remained  in  France.  Even 
during  the  voyage  the  jnhuppy  victlron  were  decimated  by  the  plague,  and  on  the 
banks,  of  the  Kourou  famine  carried  off  those  spared  by  typhus.  After  at  least 
10,000  had  perished  miserably,  a  few  hundred  survivors  at  last  succeeded  in 
getting  back  to  Saint-Jean  d'Angely,  the  port  from  which  they  had  sailed.*  A 
coffee  plantation  belonging  to  the  Government  marks  the  spot  where  most  of  the 
"  colonists  "  had  succumbed  to  their  miseries.  A  few  critical  remarks  on  the 
colonising  genius  of  the  promoters  of  this  scheme  cost  Fr^ron  six  months  in  the 

Bastille. 

Farther  east  the  district  about  the  Kourou  estuary  was  also  the  scene  of  some 
colonising  experiments.  At  present  some  convicts  are  engaged  on  the  plantations ; 
but  the  Kourou  penitentiary  is  a  mere  dependency  of  the  three  Sahd  Islands 
belonging  to  the  neighbouring  penal  establishment.  Saint-Joseph  and  the  Jle 
Boyale  form  the  convict  station  proper,  reserved  for  dangerous  subjects,  or  for 

*  J.  Mourie,  la  Guyanefran^aiu. 


■5 


4 


■m 
m 


fim. 


ii'i.'itiii  Til  \*i,xi  .riiiiiii 


00 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


f'i . 


such  as  are  placed  under  special  control.     Vessels  of  large  size  find  good  anchorage 
under  the  shelter  of  the  Salut  Islands. 

Cayenne. 
Cayenne,  which  appears  to  take  its  name  from  an  old  Indian  chief,  is  one  of 
the  earliest  settlements  in  Guiana.     The  island  on  which  it  stands  was  occupied 

Fig.  19.— Cayenne  Island. 

Soalo  1  :  20U,U0O. 


Wect  or  breer\\icK  52'  IJ' 


52-15  • 


OtolO 
Feet. 


Leptlie. 


10  Feot, 
and  upwards. 

SMUes. 


ill  IG04  by  a  party  of  Frenchmen  under  the  leadership  of  the  Norman,  La 
R:!,vardiere,  who  had  been  commissioned  by  »  trading  company  of  Rouen.  The 
first  immigrants,  as  well  as  the  Dutch  Jews  and  others  who  followed  them,  had 


wi«" 


?  *&■■'"" 


!•*:. 


^mi*:' 


•.■r""'*'T"wv;''^- 


L 


FRENCH  GUIANA. 


07 


settled  at  the  foot  of  the  Eerairo  Hills  some  distance  to  the  east  of  the  present 
town,  which  was  founded  at  the  little  fort  of  Saint- Loiiin,  but  did  not  become  the 
permanent  capital  of  French  Guiana  till  the  year  1877. 

Cayenne  is  comparatively  speaking  ii  large  place,  containing  10,000  inhabi- 
tants, or  about  one -third  of  the  whole  population  of  the  colony.  It  is  laid  out  in 
the  usual  American  chessboard  fashion,  with  streets  at  right  angles  and  shady 
squares  on  a  peninsular  space  at  the  foot  of  the  verdant  Ce|)erou  eminence  at  the 
north-west  extremity  of  the  island. 

The  adminiatrativo  and  Government  buildings,  hotels,  barracks,  and  prisons 
occupy  a  large  part  of  the  town,  which  is  encircled  by  parks  and  magnificent 
avenues  of  palm-trees.     Being  well  exposed  to  the  Seabreeze,    Cayenne  would 

Fig.  20.— Cayenne. 

Scale  1  :  30,000. 


S?*I9' 


vWest  op  Gremwlch 


52*18- 


0  to8 

Fvet. 


DtpthR. 


8to6 

Feet. 


tttolO 
iieet. 


to  Feet 
and  upwordif. 


.  1,100  Tarda 


naturally  enjoy  a  healthy  climate  but  for  the  canals  in  the  environs,  which  often 
get  choked.  A  supply  of  water  is  brought  by  conduits  from  a  neighbouring 
height  fed  by  the  Rorota  rivulet.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  population 
consists  of  negroes,  chiefly  descendants  of  the  freedmen  who  flocked  to  the  place 
after  the  emancipation  of  1848.  But  all  the  other  races  of  the  colony  have  their 
representatives  in  Cayenne.  Most  of  the  domestic  servants  are  Creoles  from 
Martinique  ;  th6  booths  and  stores  are  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  Chinese  hucksters, 
while  the  fish  markets  are  supplied  by  natives  of  Annam.  The  harbour  is 
accessible  to  vessels  drawing  14  feet,  but  it  is  partly  exposed,  and  the  shipping 
has  occasionally  been  wrecked  by  high  tides  occurring  in  rough  weather.  A 
lighthouse  has  been  erected  on  the  Enfant  Perdu,  a  rock  at  the  northern  entrance. 
Formerly  gardens  and  plantations  abounded  in   the  environs  of   Cayenne, 


'^IT' 


08 


AMAZONIA  AND  LA  PLATA. 


cflpocially  ult)n^  the  oanuir  and  in  the  eastern  parta  of  tlio  isltind.  Tiio  Jesuits 
possessed  rich  coffoo  pluntutions  at  the  toot  of  the  Iloiniro  hill,  and  Gafirielle,  on 
the  mainhmd  south-east  of  the  capital,  was  oven  ut  one  time  famous  for  its  spices. 
During  tlie  first  years  of  the  Restoration  the  cloves  of  this  estate  yiehled  a  revenue 
of  £1(),0()()  in  favourable  years. 

But  at  present  all  the  old  cultivated  tracts  have  reverted  to  t)io  fiti*to  of  bush, 
and  nothiuj;  is  now  seen  except  here  and  there  a  few  coffee  and  cacao  shrubs  run 


Fig.  21. — Mouth  of  the  Oyapok. 

Scnlu  1  :  1,100,000. 


Depttts. 


otoie 
Feet. 


16  to  82 
Feet. 


32to6« 
Feet. 


64  Feet 
and  upward*. 


.18   Miles. 


wild.  The  island  is  traversed  by  some  carriage  roads,  one  of  which,  11  miles 
long,  runs  to  the  so-called  Digrad  den  Cannes,  a  landing  stage  for  the  little 
steamer  which  plies  on  the  Mahuri  creek  as  far  as  the  village  of  Roura. 
Farther  on,  that  is,  always  to  tho  windward  of  Cayenne,  flows  the  Kaw  river 
with  a  settlement  of  the  same  name,  beyond  which  follows  the  Approuague, 
famous  for  its  auriferous  alluvia.  It  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Aratai,  a  western 
affluent  of  the  Approuague,  that  gold  was   first  discovered  in   this  basin  by  a 


1^ 


■■  ^  ''iM^^l^^I^j^i 


•T,ffV""'^7  »'l!«l'|lT^^'  |J>l!'y^'w«Hy|ll^''wmK:^^^^^yJ^'g.^.'"'^v^^f  .'■'■yWi''<^''!''!'j'iw' 


FRENCH  OUIANA. 


OU 


nriiKiliun  ntimed  PuiiHno  in  the  yeiir  l8o5.  Since  then  hoth  the  Appniuiigiie 
und  the  Upper  Maroni  goldHrhlH  Imve  yiehled  ii  continuous  supply  of  the 
precious  metal  to  the  miners. 

On  the  count  between  the  A[)pr(mague  and  Oyapok  estuaries  the  so-calh'd 
Montatjue  tVAryviit  {"  Silver  Mountain  "),  u  little  cminonco  2VA  I'eel  high,  also 
recalls  some  old  minin<f  operations.  Here  an  unhealthy  penal  settlement,  which 
had  to  be  abandoned,  has  been  replaced  by  a  coffee  plantation.  The  Alontagne 
d'Argent  serves  as  a  landmiirk  to  pilots  making  for  the  mouth  of  the  Oyupok, 
present  easterly  limit  of  French  Guiana.  There  are  scarcely  any  settlements  in 
the  valley   of  this  copious  river,  which  has  been  thoroughly  but  unsuccensfully 

Fig'.  22. — (JoLD  Minks  of  Guiaxa. 
Scale  1  :  ia,(HiiVioii. 


f^£>"^i^-^^jn:.::::^:. 


Gold  Mloea  (Placers). 
«6i 


.  2A0  Milea. 


explored  by  prospectors, 
banks  of  the  stream. 


Nothing  was   found  except  a  few  particles  along  the 


Natukai,  Resources. — Tuadk. 

In  French  Guiana  are  found  all  the  products  of  the  tropical  zone,  but  none 
in  sufficient  abundance  to  support  a  large  export  trade.  In  1890,  after  half  a 
century  of  agricultural  decline,  not  more  than  9,400  acres  were  under  cultiv&,tion 
in  the  whole  colony,  and  of  these  fully  two-thirds  were  devoted  to  the  production 
of  provisions  for  the  local  consumption.  Sugar,  coffee,  and  cacao  represent 
altogether  a  total  annual  crop  of  not  more  than  100  tons.  The  so-called  hatte^i  or 
nieiKfffen'er  (cattle  farms,  farmsteads),  contain  very  few  cattle,  and  in  1890  the 

3P 


70 


AMA/(1NIA  AND  I,A   I'f.AfA. 


^^i' 


^■1! 


wliolo  colony  poHsosHcd  only  lilW  woody,  l)adly-l)ri'd  horsfn.  Of  liornod  mttio, 
which  Hucceod  bust,  there  wore  over  ({,()()(),  and  ubout  the  fiiini<<  number  of  pigs, 
boHides  thonc  running  wild  in  tho  wondH.  A  few  hundred  shco]),  gouts,  aascs,  und 
niulos  complete  the  list  of  livestock. 

The  industries,  properly  Ho-cullod,  iir(>  in  ii  rudimentary  stiite,  being  limited  to  u 
few  tiifia  (course  rum)  diMtillerioH,  Home  suw-mills,  und  other  Bmiill  cstublishmonts. 
Tho  largest  industrial  operations  uro  those  connected  with  auriferous  cpuirtz- 
crushing.  Hut  the  yield  of  gold  has  gradually  fallen  off  since  lH7o.  In  that 
year  the  registered  return  rose  to  about  4, *)()()  pounds,  valued  ut  £'227,000,  to 
which,  perhaps,  half  us  much  more  should  be  added  for  the  pilfering^  ut  the  works 
and  for  the  njold  smuggled  ubroail.  The  iron  or-'s,  which  abound  in  some  districts, 
have  novo;    y^vn  worked. 

Despite  certttln  st'itonients  to  the  contrary,  tho  trade  of  b'rcnch  Guiana  is 
certainly  greater  ut  present  thun  it  was  before  tho  devolution.  The  yearly 
exchanges  with  tho  rest  of  tho  world  average  from  i'o^O.OOO  to  £720,000.  The 
imports  greatly  exceed  the  exports,  most  of  the  merchandise  brought  into  the 
colony  being  destined  for  tho  convict  staticms  and  tht  garrisons,  which  produce 
nothing  in  return.  At  present  the  whole  of  tho  shipping  falls  below  100,000 
tons,  but  it  is  steadily  ii. creasing,  thanks  to  tho  greater  facilities  of  cominunicu- 
tion  enjoyed  by  stoumc  -s  over  suiling  yssels.  Cayenne  is  couuectod  by  a  regular 
line  of  steurasliips  with  Murtinique  und  France  by  tho  Surinam  and  Demeruru 
route.  Smull  steamers  ply  on  the  cous. ,  und  a  telegraph  line  200  miles  long  con- 
nects Cuyenne  with  the  Muroni. 


A"         ;iSTRATIOX. 

Although  French  Guiana  pos  :soj  a  general  couuijil  of  16  elected  members, 
of  whom  seven  for  Cuyenn'  and  also  nominates  a  deputy  to  the  French  Chambers, 
the  population  is  too  small  and  tho  army  of  ofBcials  too  strongly  organised  for 
tho  absolute  power  of  the  governor  to  be  checked  by  this  initial  measure  of  local 
representation.  Under  the  direct  orders  of  tho  governor  are  tho  military  com- 
mander, (he  heads  of  tho  naval  forces  and  of  the  marine,  the  director  of  the 
interior,  tho  procurator-general,  the  head  of  tho  penitentiary  department.  All 
these  functionaries  constitute  his  privy  council,  to  which,  as  a  matter  of  form,  are 
added  three  of  the  inhabitants  whom  he  chooses,  and  whose  vote  he  can  always 
depend  upon. 

But  even  were  the  whole  council  in  opposition,  the  governor  might  still  defy 
them,  and  even  manipulate  the  annual  budget,  not  to  say  expel  any  refractory 
members.  Except  during  the  elections,  the  Moniteur  Ofliciel,  issued  weekly,  is 
the  only  journal  in  the  Colony.  In  a  word,  the  penitentiary  system  of  adminis- 
tration may  be  said  to  mould  civil  society  itself. 

After  the  Coup  d'Etat  of  1801,  the  transportation  system  was  introduced  by 
special  decree,  and  is  now  the  sole  motive  for  the  maintenance  of  French  rule  in 
Guiana.  The  first  convoy  of  condemned  criminals  arrived  at  the  Salut  Islands 
in  1852,  and  by  the  year  1867  over  18,000  had  been  despatched  to  the  various 


'Jf»litM 


